Cibrarjp  of  Che  theological  ^tminaxy 

PRINCETON  •  NEW  JERSEY 

PURCHASED  BY  THE 
HAMILL  MISSIONARY  FUND 

BV  3415  .R52  1916 

Richard,  Timothy,  1845-1919. 

Forty-five  years  in  China 


FORTY-FIVE    fEARS   IN   CHINA 


Photo  i;'] 


TIMOTHY   RICHARD   AT  6o. 


[Elliott  Gr  Fry. 
Frontispiece. 


FORTY-FIVE  YEARS  IN 

CHINA     REMINISCENCES    BY 
TIMOTHY  "RICHARD,  D.D.,  Litt.D. 


WITH  18  ILLUSTRATIONS 


NEW   YORK 

FREDERICK  A.   STOKES   COMPANY 

PUBLISHERS 

1916 


(All  rights  reserved) 

PRINTED  IN  GREAT  BRITAIN 


DEDICATION 

To  the  Baptist  Missionary  Society,  London, 
in  whose  service  I  have  been  since  1869  : 

To  the  Christian  Literature  Societies  of 
Scotland,  England,  and  China,  under  whose 
auspices  I  have  engaged  in  special  literary 
work  since  1891  : 

To  the  many  individual  friends  in  England, 
America,  and  China  who  have  generously 
aided  me  in  all  my  life  : 

This  volume,  which  is  mainly  a  record 
of  efforts  to  establish  the  Kingdom  of  God 
among  a  fourth  of  the  human  race,  is  grate- 
fully and  affectionately  dedicated  by 

THE   AUTHOR. 


INTRODUCTION 

The  problem  before  the  missionary  in  China,  a^  I  found 
it  forty -five  years  ago,  was  not  only  how  to  save  the 
souls  of  a  fourth  of  the  human  race,  but  also  how  to 
save  their  bodies  from  perishing  at  the  rate  of  four 
millions  per  annum,  and  to  free  their  minds,  more  crippled 
than  the  feet  of  their  wom;en,  from  a  philosophy  and 
custom  which  had  lasted  for  many  centuries  and  left 
them  at  the  mercy  of  any  nation  which  might  attack 
their  country.  But,  if  the  nation  were  liberated  from 
the  bonds  of  ignorance  and  harmful  custom,  and  were 
to  receive  the  light  of  education — scientific,  industrial, 
religious — it  might  become  one  of  the  most  powerful 
nations  on  earth.  It  was  glad  tidings  of  great  joy 
that  the  missionary  brought  to  its  political  and  religious 
leaders.  Many  of  these,  after  some  years  of  hesitation 
and  doubt,  believed  his  message,  but  the  majority  were 
too  full  of  ignorance  and  prejudice  to  take  action  till 
it  was  too  late.  Thus  one  of  the  greatest  nations  of 
antiquity  or  of  modern  times  has  become  involved  in 
revolution  and  anarchy  from  which  it  will  take  a  long 
time  to   recover. 

These  reminiscences  tell  of  sympathetic  efforts  made 
to  guide  the  spiritual  leaders  of  China  to  a  vision  of  the 
Kingdom  of  God,  with  its  promise  of  a  hundredfold  in 
this  world,  and  in  the  world  to  come  life  everlasting. 
These  efforts  have  meant  the  uplifting  of  China  in 
various  ways,  through  better  religion,  better  science,  better 
means  of  communication,  better  international  commerce, 
the  institution  of  modem  schools  and  colleges,  the  found- 
ing of  a  modern  Press,  the  establishment  of  new  industries 
and  manufactures  over  a  country  as  large  as  the  whole 


8  INTRODUCTION 

of  Europe.  In  all  these  departments  I  have  taken  some 
share,  as  will  be  seen  in  these  reminiscences. 

I  should  like  to  record  my  thanks  to  those  who  have 
given  me  so  much  help  in  this  work  : — 

To  my  daughter  Eleanor,  for  writing  at  my  dictation, 
and  putting  the  manuscript  into  shape  for  the  Press  ; 
to  Miss  Hilda  C.  Bowser,  for  the  trouble  she  took  to 
obtain  some  of  the  photographs,  and  for  typing  the 
whole  ;  and  lastly  to  the  Rev.  W.  Y.  Fullerton,  Home 
Secretary  of  the  Baptist  Missionary  Society,  at  whose 
request  I  have  written  these  reminiscences,  for  revising 
the    work    for    publication. 

TIMOTHY  RICHARD. 
Shanghai, 

yanuary  1916. 


CONTENTS 

PAGE 

INTRODUCTION      ........        7 

CHAPTER  I 

EARLY  YEARS  IN   WALES.      1845-69        .  .  .  .  •      ^9 

I.  Birthplace  and  Family.  2.  Accidents.  3.  Baptism.  4.  School- 
ing. 5.  Teaching  School.  6.  Haverfordwest  Theological  College. 
7.  Starting  of  China  Inland  Mission.  8.  Application  to  Baptist 
Missionary  Society. 

CHAPTER  H 
EARLY   YEARS   IN   CHINA.      STUDYING   LANGUAGE  AND   CIVILIZATION   .      30 

I.  Last  Days  in  England.  2.  Voyage.  3.  Arrival  in  China.  4. 
Early  Trials  of  B.M.S.  in  China.  5.  Fellow-missionaries  in  Chefoo. 
6.  Tientsin  Massacre.  7.  Sterling  Quality  of  First  Converts.  8. 
Arrival  of  Dr.  Brown.  9.  Selling  Gospels  round  Shantung  Pro- 
montory. ID.  Trip  to  Manchuria  Selling  Gospels  :  (a)  Threatened 
Shipwreck  ;  [b)  Sunstroke  ;  (c)  Robbers  ;  (d)  Sa  Ur  Hu  ;  (c)  Ling 
Kai  ;  (/)  Lao  Ch'eng,  the  old  Manchu  Capital  ;  (g)  Extraordinary 
Confusion  of  Exchange  ;  {h)  Some  Features  of  Interest  in  Man- 
churia ;    (:')  Adventure    at    Korean    Gate ;    (j)    Bad    Government. 

II.  Street  Preaching  not  Productive  of  Satisfactory  Results.  12. 
Visit  to  Salt  Manufacturer.  13.  Fair  at  Hwui  Lung  San.  14.  Attempt 
to  Settle  in  Ninghai.  15.  Visit  to  a  Devout  Seeker  after  Truth.  16. 
Striking  Essay  on  Jesus  Christ  by  a  non-Christian.  17.  First  Visit 
to  Chi-nan  fu.  1873.  18.  Baptism  of  Military  Officer.  19.  Moham- 
medans. 20.  Mcllvaine,  the  first  Protestant  Missionary  in  Chi-nan 
fu.  21.  Crossett,  his  Colleague.  22.  Chinese  Philanthropist  In- 
troducing Vaccination.  23.  Medical  Tour  with  Dr.  Brown.  24. 
Demon  Possession.  25.  Black  and  White  Sheep.  26.  Second  Visit 
to  Chi-nan  fu.     27.  Roads  and  Modes  of  Travel  in  North  China. 

CHAPTER  III 

PIONEERING   AMONG   SHANTUNG    FARMERS.       1875-6      .  .  .76 

I.  First  Connection   with   Li  Hung-chang.     2.  Journey  to  Ch'ing- 

chow  fu.    3.  Medical  Work.    4.  Prefectural  Treasurer.  5.  Change 

into  Chinese  Dress.     6.  Acting  as  Master  of  Fengshui.  7.  How  I 

9 


10  CONTENTS 

Got  a  House.  8.  Anti-foreign  ex-Magistrate.  9.  Study  of  Native 
Religious  Book.  10.  Intercourse  with  Mohammedans.  11.  Visit 
to  Leader  of  Religious  Sect.  12.  Kindness  of  Country  People. 
13.  Midnight  Gathering  of  Women  at  Taoist  Temple.  14.  Visit  to 
Hermit.     15.  First  Converts  in  Ch'ing-chow  fu. 

CHAPTER  IV 

PAGE 

FAMINE  RELIEF  IN  SHANTUNG.      1876-7  .  .  .  -97 

I.  Failure  of  Crops.  2.  Posters  Exhorting  People  to  Pray  to  God. 
3.  Disturbances  owing  to  F'amine.  4.  Asked  to  Head  a  Rebellion. 
5.  Methods  of  Distributing  Money.  6.  Second  Request  to  Head 
Rebellion.  7.  Proposals  to  Governor  Ting  Pao  Chun  to  Avert 
Future  Famines.  8.  Donations  from  Chefoo.  9.  Increase  of  In- 
V  quirers.  10.  My  Mission  Policy  Adopted  by  Dr.  Nevius.  11.  Inci- 
dents in  Famine  Relief.  12.  Subscriptions  from  Ports.  13. 
Serious  Riot  at  Ch'ang  Lo.  14.  Interview  with  Official.  15.  Pur- 
suit and  Rescue.  16.  Dishonest  Official  Threatened  by  Women. 
17.  Distress  during  Winter.  18.  Distribution  of  Relief  with 
Officials  and  Gentry,  ig.  Arrival  of  A.  G.  Jones.  20.  Proposals 
to  Local  Officials  to  Avert  Famine.  21.  Church  Work.  22.  Letter 
to  Baptist  Missionary  Society. 

CHAPTER  V 

FAMINE   RELIEF  IN  SHANSI.      1877-81    .....   I25 

I.  Decision  to  Distribute  Relief  in  Shansi.  2.  Journey  to  T'ai-yuan 
fu.  3.  Interview  with  Governor  Tseng.  4.  Questions  to  Roman 
Catholic  Priests  through  their  Bishop.  5.  Extracts  from  Diary  on 
Trip  South  of  T'ai-yuan  fu.  6.  Difficulties  of  Grain  Transport.  7. 
Arrival  of  C.I.M.  Missionaries,  James  and  Turner.  8.  Co-operation 
with  Chinese  Officials  in  Famine  Relief.  9.  Proposals  to  Governor 
to  Avert  future  Famines.  10.  Suggestion  to  B.M.S.  to  Show  Atten- 
tion to  new  Chinese  Ambassador.  11.  Letter  to  Protestant  Mis- 
sions Proposing  Organization  and  Co-operation.  12.  Arrival  of 
Hill,  Turner,  and  Whiting,  and  Death  of  latter.  13.  Distribution  of 
Mansion  House  Relief  Fund.  14.  Arrival  of  C.I.M.  Ladies.  15. 
Marriage  with  Miss  Martin.  16.  Gratitude  of  Chinese  for  Foreign 
Relief.  17.  Famine  Relief  at  Ping  Yang  Fu  during  Winter.  18. 
Roman  Catholic  Books  in  Chinese.  19.  Lack  of  Organization  in 
Protestant  Mission  Work.  20.  Missionary  Tracts  Alienating  Non- 
Christians.  21.  Lost  Christians  Found  in  Ping  Yang  Fu.  22.  Lu 
Tung  Pin,  Founder  of  the  Sect  of  the  Pill  of  Immortality.  23.  Dis- 
tribution of  Tracts  and  Gospels  throughout  Province.  24.  Prizes 
for  Religious  Essays  at  Triennial  Examination.  25.  Pastor  Hsi. 
26.  Visit  to  Peking.  Interview  with  Li  Hung-chang.  27.  Arrival 
of  Dr.  Schofield  and  other  C.I.M.  Workers.  28.  A  Regrettable 
Severance.  29.  Biographies  of  Christians.  30.  Unusual  Measures 
to  help  the  Shansi  People. 


CONTENTS  11 

CHAPTER  VI 

PAGE 
WORK   AMONGST   OFFICIALS  AND   SCHOLARS.      1881-4   .  .  •    I56 

I.  Attitude  of  Officials  to  Foreigners.  2.  Better  Equipment  for 
Mission  Work.  3.  Lectures  to  Officials.  4.  Visit  of  Prefect  Wang. 
5.  Best  Scholar  in  the  Province  residing  in  Compound.  6.  Inter- 
view with  Viceroy  Tso  Tsung  T'ang.  7.  Friendly  Intercourse  of 
Official  with  Missionaries.  8.  Chinese  Music.  9.  Intercourse  with 
Buddhist.  10.  Visit  to  Wu  Tai  San — a  P'amous  Mountain.  11. 
New  Governor — Chang  Chih-tung.  12.  Intercourse  with  Roman 
Catholics.  13.  Journey  to  Shantung.  14.  Dysentery  at  Chi-nan  fu. 
15.  Harvest  Thanksgiving.  16.  New  Churches  in  Shantung.  17. 
Fellow-missionaries — Mr.  and  Mrs.  Kitts  and  J.  S.  Whitewright. 
18.  Difficulty  with  Anti-foreign  Magistrate,  ig.  Robbery  on  Return 
to  Shansi.  20.  Death  of  Dr.  Schofield.  21.  Effect  of  Taiping 
Rebellion.  22.  Hostile  Attitude  of  Government  and  Persecution  of 
Christians.  23.  Visit  to  Peking  with  Mr.  James.  24.  Establishment 
of  Evangelical  Alliance.  25.  Remarkable  Korean  Proclamation 
against  Christianity.  26.  Sir  Robert  Hart's  Scheme.  27.  My 
,  Various  Reform  S<;h^;nes_  28.  Interview  with  Sir  Harry  Parkes. 
29.  Proposals  to  Shansi  Missionaries. 


CHAPTER  VII 

FIRST   FURLOUGH.      1885-6  ......    I94 

I.  Journey  to  Coast.  2.  Visit  to  Nanking  with  Hill.  3.  Finding 
of  "The  Awakening  of  Faith."  4.  Storm  on  Voyage  Home.  5. 
B.M.S.  Annual  Meeting.  6.  Appeal  for  more  Workers.  7.  Edu- 
cational Scheme  Proposed  to  B.M.S.  8.  Rejection  of  Scheme. 
9.  Suggestions  for  improved  Mission  Methods.  10.  Special  Course 
on  Electrical  Engineering  at  Home.  11.  Interview  with  Minister 
of  Education  in  Berlin. 

CHAPTER  VIII 

YEARS  OF  TRIAL  AND  SUSPENSE.      1886-9I        .  .  .  20I 

I.  Talks  with  Pere  Simon  on  s.s.  Oxns.  2.  Wife's  Illness  and  Re- 
covery from  Sprue.  3.  Criticism  from  Colleagues.  4.  Departure 
from  Shansi.  5.  Work  in  Peking.  6.  Marquis  Tseng.  7.  Inter- 
view with  Li  Hung-chang.  8.  Mrs.  Richard's  Pupils.  9.  Visit  to 
Chief  Lama.  10.  Visit  to  Chief  Buddhist  Abbot.  Ii.  Invitation  to 
Work  in  Shantung.  12.  Fever  and  Paralysis,  Shantung.  13. 
ELM.S.  Refuse  Scheme  of  College,  1889.  14.  Shanghai  Conference. 
15.  Editing  Chinese  Paper.  i6.  Mrs.  Richard's  Biblewomen'in 
Tientsin.  17.  B.M.S.  Deputation.  18.  Invitation  to  S.D.K.  in 
Shanghai. 


12  CONTENTS 


CHAPTER  IX 

PAGE 
S.D.K.   WORK   IN   SHANGHAI.       189I-4      .....    2l8 

I.  Founding  of  the  S.D.K.  by  Dr.  Williamson.  2.  Other  Workers 
in  the  S.D.K.  3.  First  Methods  of  Work,  1891.  4.  Plans  for  In- 
crease of  Interest.  5.  Appreciation  of  Work  by  Chinese  Officials. 
6.  Presentation  of  New  Testament  to  Empress-Dowager.  7.  Pro- 
posal to  Municipal  Council  to  found  a  Pubhc  School  for  Chinese. 
8.  The  Anti-footbinding  Society.  9.  Results  of  Rev.  J.  Lambert 
Rees'  Work. 


CHAPTER  X 

INTERVIEWS   DURING  THE  CHINO-JAPANESE   WAR.      1894-5      .  .   229 

I.  The  Chino-Japanese  War.  2.  Influence  of  S.D.K.  Literature 
\  during  the  War.  3.  Change  of  Attitude  of  the  Chinese  Booksellers. 
4.  Winter  in  Nanking.  5.  First  Interview  with  Viceroy  Chang 
Chih-tung.  6.  Second  Interview  with  Chang  Chih-tung.  7.  Inter- 
view with  Peace  Envoy,  Chang  Yin-huan.  8.  Third  Interview 
with  Chang  Chih-tung, 

CHAPTER  XI 

PRESENTATION   OF   MISSION    MEMORIAL   IN    PEKING.      1895        .  .    242 

I.  Memorial  Committee.  2.  Persecutions  of  Christians.  3.  First 
\  ,|  Interview  with  Li  Hung-chang.  4.  Following  Interviews  with 
Li  Hung-chang.  5.  First  Interview  with  Prime  Minister.  6. 
Interview  with  Prince  Kung.  7,  Dr.  Wherry  and  I  Present 
Mission  Memorial.    8.  Obstructions  to  Granting  our  Request. 


CHAPTER  XII 

THE   REFORM    MOVEMENT   IN   CHINA.      1895-8  ....    253 

I     I.  Kang   Yu   Wei.     2.  The    Reform   Society   in    Peking.     3.     My 

I    Reform  Scheme   for   Weng  T'ung-ho.     4.  Sun  Chia-nai,  the  Em- 

j    peror's  Tutor.     5.  Interview   with  Chang  Yin-hwan.     6.  Kang  Yi 

j    and  Interesting  Manclm  Oflicial.     7.  Farewell  to  Weng  T'ung-ho 

1    and    Li    Hung-chang.      8.   Progress    of     Reform    Movement.     9. 

\   Chinese  Girls'  School  in  Shanghai.     10.  The  Emperor's  Wonderful 

Edicts.     II.  First  Check  to  Reform  Party.     12.  Invited  to  Peking 

to   Become   Emperor's    Adviser.     13.  Coup  d'Etat  and   F^light   of 

K'ang  Yu-wei.     14.  Execution  of  Reformers.     15.  Fate  of  Others. 

16.  Emperor's  Decree  of  Abdication. 


CONTENTS  13 


CHAPTER  XIII 

PAGE 

A  JOURNEY  TO  t'IEN-T'AI    MOUNTAIN.      1895    ....   269 

I.  A  Great  Religious  Centre.  2.  A  Manchu  Christian  Proposes  to 
Visit  the  Pope.  3.  Strange  Superstitions.  4.  Splendid  Temples  at 
Hangchovv.  5.  Shaohing,  a  Cily  for  Lawyers  and  Wine.  6. 
Travellers'  Agency.  7.  A  Riot  Averted.  8.  Laborious  Method  of 
Rice  Cultivation.  9.  Gigantic  Images  of  Buddha.  10.  Other 
Temples.  11.  Temple  Worship.  12.  A  Hermit's  Hut.  13.  Hwa 
Ting  Sz.  14.  More  Hermits'  Huts.  15.  Chin  Kwoh  Sz.  16. 
Kwoh-Ching  Sz.  17.  Birthday  of  the  God  of  War.  18.  Men  Re- 
duced to  Beasts  of  Burden.  19.  A  Remarkable  Prescription.  20. 
Our  Inn  Accommodation. 


CHAPTER  XIV 

MY  SECOND  FURLOUGH.      1896-7  .  .  .  .  .   286 

I.  Fellow-passenger  with  Li  Hung-chang.  2.  Visit  to  Madras. 
3.  Trip  across  India.  4.  Delhi.  5.  Paris.  6.  Reception  by  B.M.S. 
Committee.  7.  Appeal  to  the  Missionary  Secretaries'  Association. 
8.  Other  Appeals  to  the  Religious  Tract  Society.  9.  Other  Forms 
of  Work. 

CHAPTER  XV 

THE   BOXER   MOVEMENT.      I900.  .....   293 

I.  Visit  to  Peking.  2.  Spread  of  Anti-foreign  Feeling.  3.  Militia 
Raised  by  Kang  Yi.  4.  Ecumenical  Conference  in  New  York.  5. 
Appeal  to  Twentieth  Century  Club.  6.  Appeals  to  Washington 
and  New  York.  7.  Return  to  China.  8.  Telegrams  to  Shensi 
and  Shansi.  9.  Chow  P'u's  Action.  10.  Interviews  with  Prince 
Ching  and  Li  Hung-chang. 

CHAPTER  XVI 

THE   SHANSI    UNIVERSITY.       I9OI-IO        .....   299 

I.  Reasons  for  its  Fecundation.  2.  Attempts  to  Start  a  Rival  Uni- 
versity Foiled.  3.  I  Oppose  Regulations  Forbidding  Teaching 
of  Christianity.  4.  Friendly  Attitude  of  Governor.  5.  Courses  of 
Education  at  University.  6.  Translation  Department  in  Shanghai. 
7.  Promise  of  Yuan   Shih  kai   to  Help  Translation  of  Textbooks. 

_8.  Edicts  to  Establish  Universities  in  Each  Province.     9.  Chang 
'^  Chih-tung's  Scheme  of  Education.      10.  Principal   Moir    Duncan. 

II.  Visit  to  T'ai-yuan  fu  in  1907.  12.  Resignation  of  Chancellor- 
ship. 13.  Governor  Ts'en  Ch'un-hsiian.  14.  Other  Governors 
of  Shansi.     15.  Effect  of  Revolution  on  University. 


14  CONTENTS 

CHAPTER  XVII 

PAGE 

CHANGING  CHINA.      19OI-4  .  .  .  .  .  .   311 

I.  Empress-Dowager  Issues  Emperor's  Reform  Edicts.  2.  Visit  to 
the  North:  {a)  Chow  Fu  ;  {b)  Jung  Lu  ;  (c)  LuCh'uan-Hn  ;  {d)  Prince 
Su.  3.  Appointed  by  Edict  Representative  of  Protestant  Missions. 
4.  Bishop  Favier  and  Mission  Regulations.  5.  Public  School  for 
Chinese.  6.  Visit  to  Japan  :  (a)  Prince  Konoye  ;  (b)  Prince  Tsai 
Chen  at  Peeress  School ;  (c)  Japanese  Ambition.  7.  Loss  of 
my  Wife.  8.  International  Red  Cross  Society  in  Manchuria. 
9,  Visit  to  Peking,  1904.     10.  Religious  Conference  in  Shantung. 

II.  Suggestions  of  Chow  Fu. 

CHAPTER  XVIII 

RELIGIOUS  MOVEMENTS  AND  CONFERENCES.      I905-IO  .  .   326 

I.  Welsh  Revival.  2.  World-Baptist  Conference.  3.  The  Chinese 
Commissioners  at  Lambeth.  4.  Dr.  J.  B.  Paton.  5.  China 
Missions  Emergency  Committee.  6.  Centenary  Conference  in 
Shanghai.  7.  Appeal  of  China  Emergency  Committee.  8.  Deputa- 
tions to  China.  9.  Dr.  John  R.  Mott.  10.  The  Edinburgh  Con- 
ference.    II.  Edinburgh  Conference  Continuation  Committee. 

CHAPTER  XIX 
HIGHER  BUDDHISM  .......  334 

I.  Study  of  Buddhism.  2.  Professor  Lloyd.  3.  Introduction  of 
Buddhism  into  Japan.  4.  Connection  between  Early  Christianity 
and  Lotus  Scriptures.  5.  Mrs.  Gordon's  Researches.  6.  Visit  to 
Koyasan.  7.  Similarities  between  Christian  and  Buddhist  Rites. 
8.  Visit  to  Korean  Buddhist  Monasteries.  9.  Striking  Shinto  Rites. 
10.  "A  Mission  to -Heaven."  11.  Attitude  of  Prince  Ito  towards 
Religion.  12.  Count  Okuma.  13.  Evening  at  Japanese  Bank  in 
Peking. 

CHAPTER  XX 

WORK  OF  LATER  YEARS  .  .  .  .  .  .  348 

I.  Visit  to  Korea.  2.  Prince  Ito's  Banquet.  3.  Sun  Yat-sen's 
Early  Career.  4.  His  Schemes  for  Revolution.  5.  Outbreak  of 
Revolution.  6.  Yuan  Shih-kai's  Measures.  7.  Modern  Religious 
Movement  in  China.  8.  Interview  with  Mullah  in  Peking.  9. 
Religious  Meetings  in  Shanghai.  10.  Baptist  Conference  in 
Shantung.  11.  Visit  to  Lao  Shan  in  Shantung.  12.  Monastery  of 
Tai  Ch'ing  Kung.  13.  Return  to  Tsingtao  by  Raft.  14.  Changsha, 
the  Capital  of  Hunan.  15.  My  Visit  in  1914.  16.  Intercourse  with 
Buddhists.  17.  Meeting  of  Educationists.  18.  Other  Meetings 
in  Changsha.  19.  Second  Marriage.  20.  A  Trip  to  Java.  21. 
Hindu  Civilization.  22.  Arab  Civilization.  23.  Portuguese  Civili- 
zation.   24.  Dutch  Civilization.    25.  Chinese  Civilization. 


CONTENTS  15 

CHAPTER  XXI 

PAGE 
MY  CONNECTION   WITH   THE   PEACE   MOVEMENT  .  .  .  367 

I.  First  Ideas.  2.  "  League  of  Peace  for  Princes."  3.  "Parliament 
of  Man."  4.  Proposal  to  Prince  Konoye.  5.  Prince  Ch'ing. 
6.  Prince  Saionje's  Secretary.  7.  Turkish  Prince.  8.  Peace 
Congress  at  Lucerne.  9.  Lord  Weardale.  10.  President  Roose- 
velt. II.  China's  Changed  Attitude.  12.  Interview  with  Prince 
Ito.  13.  Carnegie's  Speech  at  the  Guildhall.  14.  Treaty  of 
Arbitration.     15.  The  Great  European  War. 


ILLUSTRATIONS 


TIMOTHY    RICHARD   AT   6o 


,  Frontispiece 


FACING  PAGE 
TANYRESGAIR,   THE    FARM   AT   WHICH    TIMOTHY    RICHARD   WAS    BORN      20 


TIMOTHY    RICHARD   AT   24  . 

REV.  A.   G.   JONES  ..... 

THE   REFORMERS   K'ANG   YU-WEI,   T'aN    TZE-T'UNG,    LIANG   CH 

MR.    AND    MRS.    RICHARD    IN    1884 

TIMOTHY    RICHARD   AT   40  . 

VICEROY   CHANG   CHIH-TUNG        .... 

WAN    KWOH    KUNG    PAO  ..... 

TIMOTHY    RICHARD   AND    MEMBERS   OF    HANLIN   ACADEMY 

GOVERNOR   TS'EN    CH'UN-HSUAN   AND    HIS   TWO   SONS    . 

PRINCIPAL  MOIR   DUNCAN,   M.A.,  LL.D.  ... 

GRADUATING  STUDENTS,   SHANSI    UNIVERSITY,    I9IO       . 

SHANGHAI    PUBLIC  SCHOOL    FOR   CHINESE 

TIMOTHY   RICHARD   AT  65 

CHRISTIAN    LITERATURE   SOCIETY'S   OFFICES 

2 


•  34 

.  120 
i-ch'ao  160 

•  193 

.  200 

•  234 
.  254 
.  256 

•  300 

•  305 
.  306 

•  317 

•  332 

•  354 

17 


FORTY-FIVE  YEARS    IN   CHINA 


CHAPTER     I 
EARLY  YEARS 

I.  Birthplace  and  Family. 

I  was  born  in  1845  in  Ffaldybrenin,  a  small  village 
of  Caermarthenshire  in  Wales.  Its  name  means  King's 
Fold,  and  there  was  a  tradition  that  Llewellyn,  last  of 
the  Welsh  princes,  hid  there  from  King  Edward's 
pursuit.  Four  miles  away,  between  Punsaint  and  Caio, 
was  a  spot  where  the  Romans  had  worked  gold-mines, 
and  an  old  Roman  road  passed  within  two  miles  of 
Tanyresgair,  my  father's  farm.  My  ancestors,  though 
of  humble  origin,  were  highly  respected.  Being  the 
youngest  of  nine,  the  son  of  parents  who  were  both 
the  youngest  in  their  respective  fan^ilies,  I  never  saw 
my  grandparents.  My  paternal  grandfather,  Richard,  son 
of  David  Jones,  was  a  blacksmith,  as  was  also  my  father, 
Timothy  Richard,  in  the  early  part  of  his  life,  but  in 
later  years  he  came  into  possession  of  a  farm.  One  of 
his  brothers,  Jedadaiah,  had  some  literary  gift,  and 
published  a  book  in  the  Welsh  language.  He  was  the 
means  of  the  conversion,  in  Caermarthenshire,  of  the 
first  wife  of  Dr.  Grifhth  John  of  China.  A  nephew 
of  my  father,  Joshua  Lewis,  was  the  most  famous  of 
the  family,  and  became  a  well-known  preacher  in  the 
oldest  Church  in  Pembrokeshire,  the  mother  of  most 
of  the  Independent  Churches  in  that  country. 

My  father  had  the  reputation  of  being  one  of  the 
most  entertaining  men  in  the  district  round.  Rowland 
Williams,  one  of  the  writers  in  "  Essays  and  Reviews," 
when  professor    at    St.   David's    College,    Lampeter,    five 


20  FORTY-FIVE   YEARS   IN   CHINA 

miles  away,  used  often  to  ride  out  to  see  and  talk 
with  him.  He  was  secretary  and  deacon  of  the  Baptist 
Churches  of  Bethel  and  Salem,  and  was  often  in  demand 
as  a  peacemaker  between  contending  parties. 

My  maternal  grandfather  was  a  farmer  at  Llethercoch, 
and  was  deacon  in  a  Baptist  Church  at  Aberduar,  near 
Llanybyther.  Of  my  mother,  Eleanor  Llethercoch,  the 
celebrated  Welsh  preacher  Kilsby  Jones  wrote,  in  "  Welsh 
Worthies,"  that  he  never  met  her  equal  for  guilelessness 
and  sweetness  of  disposition,  nor  her  match  in  the  making 
of  pancakes.  I  often  remembered  her  saying  of  any 
one  who  had  done  her  a  wrong  or  said  an  ill  word 
against  her,   "Well,  it  is  worse  for  them  than  for  me." 

2.  Accidents. 

My  childhood,  passed  on  the  farm,  though  in  the 
main  uneventful,  was  not  without  the  accidents  that,  usually 
befall  boys  of  3.  more  or  less  adventurous  spirit.  One 
of  the  first  I  remember  was  putting  my  shoulder  put 
of  its  socket.  It  was  arranged  that  I  should  be  driven 
to  see  the  doctor,  who  lived  five  miles  away.  When 
the  gig  was  being  brought  round,  I  was  so  excited 
by  the  prospect  of  the  drive  and  the  interview  wi,th 
the  doctor, -that  I  ran  to  the  door.  But  the  floor  was 
very  uneven,  and  I  stumbled  an|d  fell  with  a  crash  to 
the  ground.  The  others  were  alarmed,  thinking  I  had 
niade  matters  worse,  but  I  jumped  up  and  laughed, 
and  they  discovered  that  the  fall  had  put  my  shoulder 
back  into  the  socket.  I  was  keenly  disappointed,  how- 
ever, to  find  I  had  done  myself  out  of  the  ride  and 
the  visit  to  the   doctor. 

Between  my  eyebrows  there  is  a  scar  I  have  carried 
all  my  life,  that  has  branded  me  with  the  letter  T,  which 
might  stand  for  my  name,  Timothy.  People  have  often 
asked  how  I  got  it.  When  I  was  about  four  years 
old,  I  was  one  day  in  a  field  with  one  of  my  cousins, 
who  was  ploughing.  After  a  time,  he  left  the  plough 
to  fetch  something.  I  thought  it  a  fine  opportunity; 
and  took  hold  of  the  plough,  calling  out  to  the  horses. 
Off  they  started,  and  on  they  went  till  the  plough  grated 


EARLY  YEARS  21 

against  a  stone  which  turned  up  and  struck  me  between 
the  eyebrows.  Another  time,  when  I  was  about  eight 
years  old,  I  was  keeping  watch  over  my  father's  horse, 
which  was  grazing  near  the  hedge,  in  order  to  prevent 
him  from  eating  any  of  the  corn.  The  field  was  about 
ten  feet  above  the  level  of  the  road  on  the  other  side 
of  the  hedge.  I  attempted  at  the  same  time  to  learn 
my  school  task  for  the  next  day,  and  when  the  horse 
began  to  take  a  mouthful  of  corn,  I  gave  him  a  blow 
with  my  grammar  book  ;  instantly  he  gave  me  a  kick 
which  sent  me  flying  right  through  the  hedge  and  down 
into  the  ditch  of  the  road  below.  Happily  there  was 
no  further  damage  than  a  good  deal  of  bleeding  and 
a  permanent  scar. 

On  another  occasion,  when  I  was  about  twelve,  my 
brother  Joshua  had  gone  with  a  cart  and  two  horses 
to  bring  coal  from  the  coal-pits,  over  twenty  miles  away. 
I  was  sent  with  an  extra  horse  to  meet  him,  as  there 
was  a  steep  hill  to  climb.  After  attaching  the  third 
horse,  I  was  allowed  to  drive  them  up  the  hill,  while 
my  brother  talked  with  other  carters  who  had  been 
to  fetch  coal  with  him.  With  a  fresh  horse  I  soon 
gained  upon  other  carts  ahead  of  us,  and  drove  up  the 
steep  hill  for  more  than  a  mile.  The  road  then  turned 
suddenly  down  on  the  other  side.  Instead  of  waiting 
for  my  brother  to  come  up,  I  went  boldly  on.  But  in 
going  downhill,  the  fresh  horse  began  to  pull,  and 
made  it  difficult  for  the  shaft  horses  to  keep  back  the 
ton  load.  I  went  up  to  the  fresh  horse  to  check  him, 
and  then  I  was  obliged  to  go  back  to  the  others,  but 
no  sooner  had  I  left  the  front  horse  than  he  began 
pulling  again.  Thus  the  horses  went  from  walking  to 
trotting,  and  I  knew  that  trotting  down  a  steep  hill 
with  a  heavy  load  behind  was  most  dangerous.  Seeing 
a  tree  in  the  hedge,  and  finding  that  I  would  not  be 
able  to  keep  up  with  the  horses  and  guide  them,  I 
jumped  into  the  hedge,  caught  hold  of  the  tree,  and 
let  the  horses  rush  past  me.  Now  at  the  bottom  of 
the  hill  was  a  river,  and  about  a  quarter  of  a  mile 
beyond    there    was    a    village    whence    the   people    could 


22  FORTY-FIVE   YEARS  IN   CHINA 

see  the  horses  tearing  down  the  hill  at  a  terrible  rate. 
They  expected  some  dreadful  accident  to  happen  both 
to  cart  and  beasts.  But  to  the  astonishment  of  all,  the 
fresh  horse,  in  a  marvellous  way,  got  loose  at  the  river 
and  ran  on  and  on  with  the  traces  danghng  about 
him  till  he  was  stopped  by  the  villagers,  while  the 
other  two  horses  stood  quietly  in  the  river  with  the  cart. 
Nothing  was  wrong,  one  lump  of  coal  only  having  been 
thrown    out. 

3.  Baptism. 
During  the  great  revival  which  swept  almost  like  a 
prairie  fire  over  America,  North  Ireland,  Wales,  Scotland, 
Norway,  and  Sweden  in  1858-60,  the  most  godless 
men  suddenly  breaking  down  and  becoming  converted, 
I  was  among  a  number  who  confessed  their  faith  |in 
Christ,  and  was  baptized  in  the  river  near  my  home. 
Shortly  after  this,  I  had  my  first  impulse  towards 
missionary  work  from  a  sermon  not  particularly 
missionary  in  character.  I  well  remember  the  text, 
"  Obedience  is  better  than  sacrifice."  On  my  way  home 
from  Salem  Chapel,  I  told  my  brother  Joshua,  who  was 
four  years  my  senior,  how  during  the  whole  sermon  I 
had  felt  as  if  a  voice  had  been  commanding  me  to 
go  abroad  as  a  missionary.  He  wondered  at  it,  for 
no   such   idea  had  been   conveyed  to  his  mind. 

4.  Schooling. 
The  first  school  I  attended  was  in  connection  with 
a  Congregational  chapel,  built  in  one  of  the  fields 
belonging  to  my  father's  farm  at  Tanyresgair,  and  there 
I  had  lessons  till  I  was  fourteen  years  of  age.  When 
I  was  fifteen,  my  father  wished  me  to  help  on  the 
farm  with  my  brother  Joshua,  but  my  mother  and 
brothers  thought  I  should  continue  my  education.  I 
told  my  father  that  if  I  were  supported  for  one  year 
at  school,  I  would  never  ask  for  further  help.  So  I 
was  sent  to  a  school  kept  by  a  cousin,  at  a  place  called 
Cross  Inn,  some  twenty  miles  off.  Besides  the  usual 
lessons,  I  was  given  extra  studies  with  the  pupil 
teachers,   and    I   also   learned  music  in  the  Tonic  Sol-fa 


EARLY  YEARS  23 

notation.  At  the  end  of  my  year,  an  application  was 
made  to  the  schoolmaster  for  a  teacher  for  the  school 
at  Penygroes,  and  I  was  sent.  This  was  a  mining 
place,  and  in  addition  to  the  day  school  for  children, 
I  had  a  night  school,  attended  by  miners,  some  of  them 
old  enough  to  be  my  father.  With  the  money  I  received 
here  I  was  able  to  pay  for  my  tuition  at  a  grammar 
school  in  Llanybyther.  Here,  when  the  schoolmaster 
had  any  occasion  to  be  absent,  he  always  put  the  pupils 
in  my  charge,  and  I  may  be  pardoned  for  remembering 
that  the  neighbours  used  to  say  that  they  always  knew 
who  was  teaching,  as  the  boys  were  kept  in  far  better 
order,  and  were  much  quieter  with  me  than  with  the 
master.  So  when  the  schoolmaster  at  New  Inn,  a  place 
a  few  miles  farther  south,  suddenly  closed  the  school 
there  without  giving  any  notice,  and  left  for  another 
post,  I  was  asked  to  go  at  once  to  New  Inn  as  temporary 
schoolmaster,  the  children  having  been  told  that  after- 
noon that  school  would  open  as  usual  the  next  morning, 
but  with  a  new  master.  After  leaving  New  Inn  I  was 
able  to  support  myself  at  the  Normal  School  in  Swansea. 
I  did  not  stay  there  long,  as  my  brother  Joshua, 
who  had  been  at  home  on  the  farm,  wished  to  go  to 
school  during  the  winter,  and  asked  me  to  take  his 
place  at  the  farm.  I  was  familiar  with  all  kinds  of 
farm  work,  from  ploughing  and  mowing  down  to 
digging  trenches,  trimming  hedges,  and  thatching  hay- 
stacks. When  the  neighbours  saw  me  come  back  to 
the  farm,  they  remarked,  what  a  pity  it  was  that  after 
I  had  received  so  much  schooling,  I  had  nothing  better 
than   farming  to   do. 

5.  Teaching  School. 

One  day,  however,  my  eldest  brother  David  brought 
me  a  paper  containing  an  advertisement  for  a  school- 
master in  an  endowed  school  at  Conwil  Elvet.  My 
brother  Joshua  was  quite  willing,  if  I  obtained  the 
position,  to  return  to  the  farm.  In  answer  to  my 
application  came  a  reply  that  sixty  applicants  had  written 
before    me.       A    week    later    there    came    another    letter 


24  FORTY-FIVE   YEARS   IN   CHINA 

to  say  that  only  two  satisfactory  applications  were  being 
considered  out  of  sixty,  that  of  the  son  of  the  Baptist 
minister  of  the  place  and  my  own.  A  few  days  later 
I  received  a  letter  announcing  that  the  appointment  was 
mine.  It  was  no  small  surprise  to  me  as  I  knew  no 
one  in  the  neighbourhood.  But  the  mystery  was  solved 
when  I  arrived.  The  son  of  one  of  the  churchwardens 
of  the  place,  who  was  on  the  School  Committee,  had  been 
one  of  my  classmates  in  Swansea.  There  was  consider- 
able feeling  that  the  minister's  son  had  not  received 
the  appointment,  and  many  parents  took  away  their 
children,  so  that  I  commenced  my  work  with  only 
twenty-one  pupils.  But  after  eighteen  months  three 
small  village  schools  were  compelled  to  close  as  they 
could  not  get  pupils,  while  I  had  120  scholars  in  mine. 
While  there   I  had  some  interesting  experiences. 

One  day  there  came  a  knock  at  the  door.  On  opening 
it,  I  found  some  strangers  who  were  bringing  their 
children  to  school.  Seeing  a  youth  of  about  eighteen 
before  them,  they  asked  him  if  they  could  see  the  school- 
master. I  replied  that  I  was  the  master.  They 
looked  astonished  and  seemed  not  a  little  doubtful  of 
my  ability  to   manage  a  school. 

At  this  time  I  had  to  deal  with  a  boy  of  about 
twelve  years  of  age  who  had  been  a  constant  torment 
to  my  predecessor.  The  only  child  of  his  parents,  he 
had  been  badly  spoilt,  and  was  always  quarrelling  with 
the  other  children.  The  more  he  was  punished  the 
worse  he  became.  One  day  I  determined  to  try  a  new 
method  of  dealing  with  him.  I  told  ham  to  remain 
behind  after  the  school  was  dismissed  in  the  afternoon. 
His  first  look  at  me  was  one  of  defiance,  as  if  to  show 
that  he  did  not  care  how  much  I  punished  him.  I 
began  the  interview  by  asking  why  he  was  so  often 
quarrelling  with  the  other  boys.  He  rephed  that  it 
was  because  they  were  all  unkind  to  him. 

"  Is  there  not  one  in  the  school  that  is  good  to 
you?  "   I   asked. 

"  Yes,  there  is  one  boy  who  is  friendly  to  everybody. 
He  is  always  kind  to   me,"   replied   the  boy. 


EARLY   YEARS  25 

"  I  am  glad  to  hear  that,"  I  said,  "for  I  beheve 
that  if  you  make  up  your  mind  to  be  good  to  every  one 
in  the  school,  no  matter  what  is  done  to  you,  you  will 
find  every  one  friendly  with  you,  just  as  they  are  with 
that  other  boy.  Now  I  want  you  to  promise  me  that 
you  will  try  this  experiment  for  a  week.  Do  not  tell 
any  one  of  it,  and  I  will  not  tell  any  one.  It  will  be 
a  secret  between  you  and  me  and  God.  Will  you  promise 
for  a  week  to  try   and  be  friendly  with  all  of  them?" 

I  saw  the  boy's  face  soften,  and  he  said  he  would 
try.  "  Very  well,"  I  added,  "  we  will  say  no  more 
about  it  for  a  week,  and  then  you  can  come  and  report 
to   me   how  the  plan   has   worked." 

From  that  time  the  boy's  character  seemed  to  have 
completely  changed.  He  became  one  of  the  most  cheer- 
ful and  lovable  boys  in  the  school,  and  if  ever  I  wished 
a  boy  to  go  on  a  message,  his  hand  would  always 
be  first  put  up  to  volunteer. 

I  arrang^ed  to  hold  a  Bible  Class  for  the  senior  form' 
once  a  week  in  the  evening,  giving  them  lessons  on 
the  life  of  Paul.  They  enjoyed  the  class  so  much  that 
they  begged  it  might  be  held  every  evening.  I  did 
not  consent  to  this,  but  it  was  held  very  frequently. 
Within  a  year  after  I  left  the  place  every  one  of  the 
class   had    joined    the    Church. 

6.  Haverfordwest  Theological  College,   1865-9. 

I  next  became  a  student  at  Haverfordwest  Theological 
College  in  Pembrokeshire.  When  there  I  introduced 
the  Tonic  Sol-fa  system  to  the  college,  and  to  the  Baptist 
Church  and  other  Churches  in  Pembrokeshire.  During 
my  stay  a  revolution  was  made  in  the  curriculum.  The 
students  joined  together  to  beg  that  living  languages 
should  be  substituted  for  the  dead  ones  of  Greece  and 
Rome,  and  that  universal  history,  covering'  such  lands  as 
Egypt,  Babylon,  India,  and  China,  should  be  studied 
instead  of  solely  European  history  ;  they  regarded  science 
with  its  modern  applications  as  more  useful  than  barren 
metaphysical  and  theological  studies.  1  joined  most 
heartily  in  the  demand  for  reform  in  the  curriculum,  and 


26  FORTY-FIVE   YEARS  IN   CHINA 

was  prepared  along  with  others  to  be  expelled  from  the 
college  rather  than  submit  to  a  course  of  antiquated 
studies  two  hundred  years  behind  the  times.  To  our 
surprise  and  gratification  the  authorities,  instead  of 
calling  together  a  committee  to  discuss  the  seriousness 
of  the  revolt,  agreed  to  modify  the  curriculum  to  a 
large  extent.  They  stipulated,  however,  that  all  theo- 
logical students  should  pass  a  stiff  examination  in  Hebrew, 
and  in  this  I  won  the  prize.  Fifteen  years  later,  when 
I  paid  a  return  visit  to  the  college,  I  found  that  the 
new  studies  had  been  abandoned  in  favour  of  the  old 
once  more.  I  mention  this  incident  because  in  all  my  after 
missionary  life  I  endeavoured  to  seek  the  methods  most 
productive  of  results,  rather  than  adhere  to  old  ones 
not  adjusted   to   the   changing  needs   of  the  timles. 

When  I  preached  my  first  sermon  before  my  fellow- 
students,  I  was  charged  with  having  cribbed  it  from 
Horace  Bushnell.  It  was  the  rule  for  the  students  to 
criticize  in  turn  from  the  juniors  to  the  seniors.  Now, 
I  was  lodging  with  one  of  the  senior  students,  and 
when  his  turn  came  for  remarks,  he  said  that  he  con- 
sidered the  charge  of  plagiarism  highly  complimentary 
to  me  because  he  knew  for  a  certainty  that  I  had  never 
set  eyes  on  any  book  of  Bushnell's.  My  second  sermon, 
however,  received  a  different  fate.  It  was  so  severely 
criticized  by  the  professor  that  for  two  or  three  days 
afterwards  I  felt  I  could  scarcely  face  my  fellow -students. 

During  the  latter  two  or  three  years  of  my  college 
life  at  Haverfordwest,  we  were  fortunate  in  having  as 
our  classical  professor  Dr.  G.  H.  Rouse,  a  gold  medallist 
of  the  London  University,  who  had  been  out  in  India  as 
a  missionary,  but  whose  health  had  broken  down.  In  the 
President,  Dr.  Davies,  we  had  one  of  the  ablest  theologians 
in  Wales,  whilst  in  Dr.  Rouse  we  had  the  best  classical 
master.  The  friendship  I  formed  with  him  when  at 
college  continued  after  my  departure  to  China  and  lasted 
after  his  return  to  mission  work  in  India,  and  throughout 
the  remainder  of  his  life.  One  of  the  pamphlets  he 
prepared  for  use  amongst  the  Indian  students,  "  How 
to    pass    the    Great    Examination,"    was    translated    into 


EARLY  YEARS  27 

Chinese  by  my  wife,  and  distributed  at  the  Triennial 
Examinations   in   T'ai-yuan   fu. 

A  fellow-student  in  Haverfordwest,  named  Chivers, 
generally  had  his  name  bracketed  with  mine  in  the 
examination  results.  The  future  development  of  our 
respective  lines  of  work  resulted  in  an  unexpected  meeting 
in  1897,  nearly  thirty  years  after  we  had  parted  at  the 
close  of  our  college  course.  I  was  passing  through  New 
York  on  my  way  back  to  China,  and  hearing  of  a 
Baptist  minister's  fraternal  to  be  held  in  one  of  the 
churches,  I  went  there,  a  perfect  stranger,  to  listen  to 
the  reports  of  work.  After  opening  the  meeting,  the 
chairman  said  :  "I  am  glad  to  see  Dr.  Chivers  back 
amongst  us  ;  we  shall  be  glad  to  hear  from  him  how 
his  work  is  progressing  in  Chicago."  With  that,  a 
man  who  sat  right  in  front  of  me  rose  and  went  to 
the  platform.  He  told  us  of  his  endeavour,  by  means 
of  a  periodical  he  was  conducting,  to  unite  the  young 
people  of  the  Northern  and  Southern  States  into  one 
national  Baptist  body,  instead  of  having  twoi  indepen- 
dent Baptist  societies  in  one  country.  After  he  returned 
to  his  seat,  I  put  my  hand  on  his  shoulder  and  asked, 
"  Do  you  remember  Timothy  Richard,?  "  After  the  first 
glance  of  recognition,  he  instantly  rose  and  informed 
the  chairman  that  a  fellow-student  of  his  from  Wales, 
who  had  been  nearly  thirty  years  in  China,  was  present, 
and  he  felt  sure  the  meeting  would  be  glad  to  hear 
a  few  words  from  me.  So  1  went  to  the  platform 
and  briefly  told  my  audience  how  I  had  been  greatly 
struck  with  the  remarkable  fact  that  two  students  from 
a  far-away  corner  in  little  Wales  should  have  been  called 
in  God's  providence  to  lead  in  work  amongst  students — 
Dr.  Chivers  influencing  the  young  Baptist  people  of  the 
great  American  republic,  and  1  working  amongst  the 
students  in  the  vast  Empire  of  China.  The  lesson  to  be 
learnt  was  that  the  day  of  small  things  was  not  to 
be  despised,  for  if  God  led,  great  results  would  follow. 

Before  I  finished  my  college  course,  1  was  asked  by 
a  Church  to  take  monthly  services  regoilarly,  and  before 
leaving  for  China  1  received  two  pastoral  calls,  one  from 


28  FORTY-FIVE   YEARS   IN   CHINA 

a  Church  in   Pembrokeshire  and  the  other  from  one  in 
Glamorganshire. 

7.   Starting   of   China    Inland   Mission. 

In  1866  there  had  occurred  a  missionary  movement 
in  regard  to  China  which  was  destined  to  have  far- 
reaching  effects  on  mission  work.  It  was  the  sailing  of 
the  first  party  of  the  China  Inland  Mission.  At  that 
time  Mr.  Hudson  Taylor  published  what  were  called 
"  Occasional  Papers."  In  these  he  explained  the  prin- 
ciples of  his  Mission — faith  in  God  to  provide  all 
necessaries  for  support  ;  trust  in  specific  guidance  in 
answer  to  prayer  rather  than  in  special  training  in  edu- 
cation before  going  lOut  ;  readiness  to  go  into  the  interior, 
put  on  native  dress,  live  in  native  houses,  feed  on  Chinese 
food,  and  generally  to  be  prepared  for  a  life  of  self- 
sacrifice  instead  of  a  life  of  luxury  at  the  ports,  in 
which  other  missionaries  were  supposed  to  indulge. 

This  movement  created  much  sensation  in  the  Baptist 
Missionary  Society,  under  whose  auspices  Mr.  Taylor 
had  offered  previously  to  go  to  China.  Dr.  Landels, 
of  Regent's  Park  Baptist  Church,  and  Dr.  Underhill, 
the  Secretary  of  the  Society,  studied  the  new  movement, 
the  former  regarding  its  methods  as  an  improvement  on 
those  of  the  Baptist  Missionary  Society.  Dr.  Under- 
bill was  also  so  strongly  in  favour  of  it  that  at  the 
annual  meeting  in  1868  he  seconded  Dr.  Landel's  motion 
in  favour  of  a  new  policy  for  the  Baptist  Missionary 
Society  similar  to  that  laid  down  by  the  C.l.M. 
These  speeches  caused  a  great  stir  in  the  Society.  The 
Indian  missionaries  protested  against  the  suggestion  as 
to  their  want  of  devotion,  and  maintained  that  the  prin- 
ciples of  the  B.M.S.  were  much  sounder  than  the  new 
ones.  Others  who  had  spent  their  lives  in  great 
consecration  in  trying  climates  were  much  distressed. 
After  more  than  forty  years  of  the  experience  of  the 
"  Principles  and  Practices  "  of  the  China  Inland  Mission, 
in  which  there  are  many  devoted  and  able  men  and 
women,  and  in  whose  work  the  whole  Church  of  Christ 
rejoices,    it   must    in    fairness    be    said    that   their   results 


EARLY   YEARS  29 

have  not  proved  more  successful  than  those  of  other 
societies  ;  indeed,  in  China  nearly  all  the  other  societies 
have   a   far   larger   number    of   converts   per   missionary. 

8.  Application  to  Baptist  Missionary  Society. 

In  1868  I  heard  Mrs.  Grattan  Guinness  plead  the  cause 
of  the  China  Inland  Mission  field. 

The  heroic  and  self-sacrificing  programme  of  the  China 
Inland  Mission  appealed  to  me,  and  towards  the  end  of 
my  college  career  in  Haverfordwest  I  offered  myself 
to  join  them.  But  as  I  was  a  Baptist,  they  recommended 
me  to  apply  to  the  Baptist  Missionary  Society.  I  did 
so,  desiring  to  be  sent  to  North  China.  On  being  asked 
by  the  committee  why  I  wished  to  go  to  North  China, 
I  replied  that  as  the  Chinese  were  the  most  civiUzed 
of  non- Christian  nations,  they  would,  when  converted, 
help  to  carry  the  gospel  to  less  advanced  nations,  and 
that  by  working  in  the  north  temperate  zone  Europeans 
could  stand  the  climate,  while  the  natives  of  North  China, 
after  becoming  Christians,  could  convert  their  fellow- 
countrymen  all  over  the  Empire.  At  the  last  moment 
before  sailing,  I  was  asked  if  I  would  pledge  myself 
to  remain  ten  years  unmarried.  This  question  took  me 
by  surprise,  as  I  had  not  thought  much  of  that  subject, 
but  had  merely  considered  it  would  be  risky  to  take 
a  wife  into  the  interior,  then  as  little  known  as  the 
wilds  of  Africa.  I  replied  that  whether  I  would  marry 
in  ten  days  or  ten  years  would  depend  on  what  was 
best  for  the  work.  It  fell  out  that  I  did  not  marry 
for  nine  years. 

In  the  spring  of  1869  I  was  accepted  for  China  by 
the  Baptist  Missionary  Society.  In  the  Pembrokeshire 
church  where  I  had  often  preached  was  a  man  named 
Rees  who  used  to  drive  me  the  fifteen  miles  back  from 
church  into  Haverfordwest.  He  and  his  wife,  intimate 
friends,  were  very  impressed  on  hearing  I  was  going 
to  China.  Our  friendship  had  been  so  real  that  they 
pledged  themselves  that  so  long  as  they  had  any  money 
to  spare  they  would  share  it  with  me.  Our  parting 
took  place  in  silence  and  tears. 


CHAPTER     II 

EARLY  YEARS  IN  CHINA.    STUDYING 
LANGUAGE  AND  CIVILIZATION 

I.  Last  Days  in  England. 

On  November  17,  1869,  I  was  to  sail  on  the  Achilles 
of  the  Blue  Funnel  Holtz  Line.  My  father  had  come 
to  Liverpool  to  see  me  oif.  But  as  he  was  unused  to 
travelling,  I  was  uneasy  about  his  being  left  alone  in 
a  strange  place,  and  I  insisted  on  seeing  him  off  in  the 
train  back  to  Wales  before  I  myself  left  in  the  steamer. 
At  the  little  hotel  where  we  stayed  was  a  man  who 
was  emigrating  to  America.  He  was  in  great  distress, 
for  he  was  short  of  money.  He  had  written  home 
for  a  money-order,  but  he  found  that  it  would  arrive 
only  after  the  steamer  had  left  next  day.  He  appealed 
to  the  guests  at  table  to  advance  him  the  money,  and 
open  his  letter  and  cash  the  order.  I  offered  to  lend 
him  the  money,  but  in  the  hurry  of  the  moment  omitted 
to  take  down  the  name  of  the  sender  of  the  order.  The 
money-order  arrived  next  day,  as  he  had  said,  and  I 
presented  it  at  the  post-office.  But  as  I  could  not 
give  the  name  of  the  sender,  the  money  was  confiscated 
for    the    benefit    of   the   British    Government. 

A  loan  which  I  made  to  a  doctor  on  board,  who 
ran  short  of  money  before  the  end  of  the  voyage,  proved 
more  fortunate.  It  was  promptly  refunded  after  our 
arrival  at  Shanghai. 

2.  Voyage. 

The  very  day  we  left  Liverpool  the  Suez  Canal  was 
declared    open,    but    as    it    was   not   sufficiently   deep    for 


STUDYING   LANGUAGE  31 

vessels  of  a  large  tonnage  to  pass  through,   we  had  to 
travel   round   the   Cape  of   Good   Hope. 

At  Mauritius  the  captain  was  astonished  to  find  that 
as  the  result  of  an  earthquake  an  island  had  sprung 
up  where  during  his  last  visit  there  had  been  deep 
water  in  the  harbour.  At  one  time  Mauritius  was 
considered  the  most  unhealthy  place  in  the  world  for 
European  troops,  as  the  death  rate  was  extremely  high. 
However,  during  our  call  there  we  heard  that  conditions 
had  entirely  changed,  and  that  the  death  rate  was  very 
low.  On  inquiry  into  the  cause  of  the  change,  we 
found  that  the  former  barracks  had  been  built  on  low- 
lying  ground,  but  in  re-building  them  a  site  had  been 
chosen  at  the  top  of  a  hill.  There  the  soldiers  were 
free  from  the  malaria  that  had  formerly  thinned  their 
ranks — malaria  which  we  now  know  is  engendered  by 
mosquitoes  on   the  swampy   ground. 

3.  Arrival  in  China. 

At  Hongkong  the  Rev.  George  Moule,  who  after- 
wards became  Bishop,  came  on  board,  returning  after 
his  first  furlough  in  England,  and  travelled  up  to 
Shanghai  with  us.  Nothing  could  exceed  the  kindness 
with  which  he  welcomed  me  to  China.  I  told  him 
I  had  been  advised  not  to  attempt  the  Chinese  language 
on  the  way  out,  as  the  pronunciation  varied  so  much 
in  different  parts,  and  asked  his  opinion  of  the  advice. 
He  fully  approved,  but  added  that  I  could  learn 
the  radicals.  So  I  set  to  work  on  the  212  radicals 
which  form  the  keys  to  the  hieroglyphic  puzzles 
that  constitute  the  written  Chinese  language,  and 
before  arriving  in  Shanghai  Mr.  Moule  examined  me 
in    them. 

I  reached  Shanghai  on  February  12,  1870.  Mr. 
Thomas,  originally  of  the  London  Mission  and  after- 
wards pastor  of  Union  Church,  finding  me  at  an  hotel, 
insisted  on  my  removing  to  his  house,  and  there  I 
stayed  till  on  February  24th  I  left  for  Chef 00,  where 
I  arrived  on  February  27th  and  was  warmly  welcomed 
by   my   colleague,    Mr.   Laughton. 


32  FORTY   YEARS   IN   CHINA 

4.   Early  Trials  of  B.M.S.  in  China. 

ChefoOj  Tientsin,  and  Newchwang  were  first  made 
open  ports  in  i860,  when  the  various  foreign  legations 
were  established  in  Peking.  Several  missionaries  who 
were  living  ,in  Shanghai  and  Ningpo  then  removed  north, 
partly  because  the  climate  would  suit  them  better,  and 
partly  to  be  nearer  the  centre  of  authority.  Before  this, 
there  had  been  an  Evangelization  Society  at  work  in 
Central  China  with  Shanghai  as  its  chief  centre,  but 
owing  to  failure  of  its  funds  several  members  of  it 
applied  to  join  the  English  Baptist  Mission.  Amongst 
these  Dr.  Hall,  and  a  Dutch  missionary,  Mr.  Kloekers, 
(father  of  Mrs.  Holman  Bentley  of  the  Congo)  were 
among  the  first  to  be  received,  and  the  Baptist  Mission 
decided  in  i860  to  open  a  station  at  Chefoo,  where 
Dr.  Hall  and  Mr.  Kloekers  were  accordingly  sent.  Mr. 
Hudson  Taylor,  a  former  member  of  the  Evangelization 
Society,  also  applied  to  join  the  Baptist  Mission,  on 
condition  of  having',  I  believe,  five  fellow-workers.  But 
this  arrangement  fell  through,  and  Mr.  Taylor  decided 
to  found  the  China  Inland  Mission,  to  which  reference 
has  been  made  in  the  preceding  chapter.  Up  to  the 
time  of  my  arrival  in  China  the  Baptist  Mission  had 
suffered  severe  losses.  Dr.  Hall  had  died  of  cholera, 
contracted  while  attending  cholera  patients,  within  twelve 
months  of  his  arrival  in  Chefoo,  and  Mr.  Kloekers  soon 
left  for  England,  while  two  others,  Mr.  McMechan  and 
Mr.  Kingdon,  were  obliged  to  return  after  a  year  pr 
two.  At  the  time  I  was  accepted  by  the  Baptist 
Missionary  Society  (1869)  Mr.  Laughton,  who  had  been 
seven  years  in  China,  was  its  sole  representative.  He 
was  a  man  of  rare  natural  ability  and  devotion.  Unfor- 
tunately, I  was  soon  to  lose  the  benefit  of  his  advice 
and  valuable  experience,  for  he  was  taken  ill  with  typhus 
fever  and  died  in  the  June  of  that  year. 

5.   Fellow-missionaries   in  Chefoo. 

When  I  arrived  in  Chefoo,  there  were  several 
remarkably     able     men     there.       The     Rev.     Alexander 


STUDYING   LANGUAGE  33 

Williamson,  LL.D.,  had  begun  his  missionary  career  in 
the  London  Mission,  coming  out  in  the  same  sailing  ship 
as  the  Rev.  Griffith  John  in  1865,  and  had  first  settled 
in  Shanghai.  He  studied  Chinese  so  efficiently  that 
within  a  twelvemonth  he  had  written  a  book  on  botany 
in  Chinese.  But  he  paid  dearly  for  his  excessive  toil, 
for  he  broke  down  in  health  and  was  obliged  to  go 
home.  He  returned  later,  however,  as  the  agent  of  the 
National  Bible  Society  of  Scotland,  and  settling  in  Chefoo 
when  that  port  was  opened,  travelled  extensively  in  North 
China,  and  published  two  volumes  of  his  travels,  for 
which  the  Glasgow  University  conferred  on  him  the 
degree  of  LL.D,  He  was  a  gigantic  man,  physically, 
intellectually,  and  spiritually.  Later  he  published  his 
"  Natural  Theology  "  ("  Ke  Wu  Tan  Yuen  ")  and  his 
"  Life  of  Christ,"  both  remarkable  books.  Towards  the 
end  of  his  life  he  founded  the  Society  for  the  Diffusion  of 
Christian  and  General  Knowledge  among  the  Chinese, 
and  in    1891    1   succeeded  him  as  its  Secretary. 

The  Rev.  John  L.  Nevius,  of  the  American  Presbyterian 
Mission,  a  most  genial  companion,  had  spent  some  years 
in  Ningpo  and  Hangchow  before  going  to  the  newly 
opened  port  of  Chefoo.  In  1890  he  was  elected 
American  Chairman  of  the  China  Missionary  Conference  in 
Shanghai,  the  Rev.  David  Hill  being  the  British  Chairman. 

The  Rev.  Hunter  Corbett,  of  the  American  Presbyterian 
Mission,  had  sailed  up  from  Shanghai  in  the  same  vessel 
with  Dr.  Williamson  and  was  shipwrecked  on  the 
Shantung  Promontory.  One  of  them  in  describing  the 
adventure  unconsciously  perpetrated  a  bull  and  wrote 
that  they  "  landed  in  the  sea."  Mr.  Corbett  was  an 
untiring  evangelist,  travelling  all  over  the  Eastern  portion 
of  Shantung.  On  one  of  his  later  visits  to  the  United 
States  on  furloug'h,  he  was  made  Moderator  of  the 
Presbyterian  Synod.  He  married  three  times  and  had 
several  children.  His  third  wife  later  used  to  tell  the 
following  story  against  herself.  On  one  occasion  her 
son  grieved  het  very  much  by  not  gaining  a  prize  at 
the  end  of  the  school  year,  and  she  reproached  him 
for  being  the  first  Corbett   who  had  ever  failed  to  get 

3 


34  FORTY-FIVE   YEARS   IN   CHINA 

a  prize.  "  But  oh  !  mamma,"  he  cried,  looking  at 
her  reproachfully,  "  the  others  had  such  clever  mothers." 
The  Rev.  Calvin  Mateer,  of  the  American  Presbyterian 
Mission,  was  the  great  pioneer  of  scientific  education 
in  missionary  work  in  China.  He  visited  Chefoo  and 
delivered  a  very  interesting  lecture  on  Chemistry, 
bringing  with  him  a  large  supply  of  apparatus.  I 
assisted  him  as  demonstrator.  It  has  been  said  that 
if  the  American  Presbyterian  Mission  had  only  sent  out 
these  three  men — Nevius,  Corbett,  and  Mateer — ^they 
would  have  been  more  than  justified  in  ten  times  the 
amount  of  expenditure  on  them. 

The  Rev.  J.  B.  Hartwell,  of  the  American  Baptist 
Mission,  had  great  charm  of  manner,  and  early  won 
the  affection  and  confidence  of  the  Chinese.  When  the 
Taiping  rebels  visited  Teng  Chow  fu,  where  he  was 
then  living,  the  city  gates  were  closed,  leaving  some  of 
the  leading  citizens  outside.  No  one  but  Mr.  Hartwell 
could  successfully  persuade  the  city  authorities  to  open 
the   gates   again    to   let    them  in. 

Mr.  Robert  Lilley,  assistant  agent  with  Dr.  Williamson 
of  the  Bible  Society  of  Scotland,  was  the  wittiest  foreigner 
in  China  until  the  advent  of  the  Rev.  Arthur  Smith.  He 
went  some  years  later  to  New  York,  where  he  helped 
in  the  production  of  the  Century  Dictionary.  When 
passing  through  New  York  I  called  at  the  office  there, 
hoping  to  see  him.  I  was  told  by  a  bright,  silver- 
haired  lady  that  he  had  left,  and  was  helping  to  finish 
a  Cyclopedia  by  Appleton.  "  We  tried  hard  to  make 
him  a  Republican  while  he  was  here,"  she  remarked, 
"  but  he  always  maintained  that  a  limited  monarchy 
was    much    better."      He    died    in     1 914. 

6.  Tientsin  Massacre. 

On  the  day  of  Mr.  Laughton's  funeral,  before  the 
service  was  over  at  the  cemetery,  we  were  all  startled 
by  a  gun  fired  from  a  steamer  that  had  just  arrived. 
We  hastened  to  the  Settlement  to  inquire  what  it  meant. 
The  captain  had  brought  the  terrible  news  of  the 
massacre  in  Tientsin  of  the  French  Consul  and  his  wife. 


TIMOTHY   RICHARD   AT   24. 


To  face  p.  34. 


STUDYING  LANGUAGE  35 

and  twenty-one  Sisters  of  Mercy.  The  rumour  spread 
that  there  was  to  be  a  rising  against  all  foreigners 
at  every  port.  Consequently  a  volunteer  force,  in 
which  I  took  part,  for  defence  was  at  once  organized, 
and  for  some  days  we  kept  watch  lest  the  Chinese  from 
the    native   town   should  attack   the   Settlement. 

After  my  colleague's  death,  I  set  to  work  with  greater 
energy  than  before  on  the  language  so  as  to  acquire 
it  as  soon  as  possible,  for  all  the  responsibility  of  the 
Baptist  Mission  work  rested  on  me,  its  sole  representative. 
Left  entirely  alone,  my  various  experiences  formed  my 
only  guide,  and  from  them  I  learned  what  courses  to 
follow  and  what  mistakes  to  avoid  in  the  future. 

7.  First  Convert.     1870. 

When  catechizing  my  first  convert  before  admitting 
him  into  the  Church,  I  asked  him,  "  Are  not  all  men 
sinners    in    the    sight    of    God?" 

The  man  repHed  in  distress,  "  I  do  not  know  about 
other   people,   but    I   know   I   am  a  great  sinner." 

I  was  much  struck  by  the  sincerity  of  the  answer 
and  the  foolishness  of  the  question,  and  felt  that  the  man 
was  a  true  Christian  in  spirit.  Never  again  did  I  repeat 
that  question.  The  history  of  this  man  is  interesting. 
Years  after,  Mr.  Roberston,  of  the  Presbyterian  Mission, 
Manchuria,  was  opening  a  new  station  belonging  to  his 
Mission  in  the  vicinity  of  the  Amur.  A  man  from  the 
surrounding  district  came  one  day  Into  the  chapel  and 
told  the   pastor  he  was  a   Christian. 

"To  what   Church   do   you  belong?" 

"  The    Baptist    Church." 

"Who    admitted    you    into    the    Church?" 

"  Li  Ti  Mo  Tai  in  Chefoo,"  giving  my  Chinese  name. 

"How   many  years  have  you  been  in  this  country?" 

"  Nineteen  years." 

"Are    there    any   other    Christians   in   your   village?" 

"  No  ;    I  and  my  family  are  the  only  ones." 

Mr.  Robertson  was  inclined  to  doubt  his  Christianity, 
for  he  thought  it  impossible  that  a  man  could  still 
continue  to  be  a  Christian  in  the  midst  of  non-Christian 


36  FORTY-FIVE   YEARS   IN   CHINA 

neighbours,  with  no  pastor  or  evangelist  to  visit  and 
help  him.  The  native  pastor  suggested  that  the  man 
should  be  asked  to  pray,  so  that  from  his  prayer  they 
might  easily  judge  whether  he  was  a  Christian.  The 
man  engaged  in  prayer,  and  all  their  doubts  vanished. 
His  fervent  petition  was  a  proof  of  daily  communion 
with    his    Master . 

I  was  very  fortunate  in  having  a  splendid  native 
assistant  in  a  former  secretary  to  the  Taiping  rebels, 
Mr.  Ch'ing,  who  had  been  theologically  trained  by  Mr. 
Laughton.  During  my  early  years  in  Chefoo,  he  was 
supported   by   Grosvenor   Baptist   Church,    Manchester. 

8.  Arrival  of  Dr.  Brown. 

Dr.  William  Brown,  a  medical  missionary  from 
Edinburgh,  came  out  in  December  to  join  me.  I  was 
greatly  delighted  to  have  such  an  able  and  devoted 
man  as  my  colleague,  and  I  vividly  recall  one  incident 
of  our  common  experiences.  Soon  after  his  arrival.  Dr. 
Brown  and  I  went  on  horseback  to  visit  a  city  twenty  miles 
inland  from  the  port  of  Chefoo.  At  one  place  where 
we  had  halted  a  little  while.  Dr.  Brown's  horse  ran 
away  with  saddle  and  bridle  on.  I  urged  my  horse 
to  a  gallop  in  order  to  overtake  it.  Soon  alongside,  I 
stretched  over  to  catch  the  reins  of  the  runaway  horse, 
but  in  doing  it  I  overbalanced  myself,  so  that  my  feet 
were  on  the  back  of  one  horse,  and  my  hands  on  the 
neck  of  the  other.  As  both  were  galloping  as  fast 
as  they  could,  it  was  a  most  perilous  position.  Happily 
there  was  a  broad  canal  ahead  at  which  the  horses 
stopped,  and  I  was  enabled  to  right  myself  and  secure 
the    runaway. 

9.  Selling  Gospels  in  Shantung  Promontory. 

I  was  desirous  to  see  for  myself  the  country  round, 
so  in  December,  in  company  with  Mr.  Robert  Lilley 
of  the  National  Bible  Society  of  Scotland,  I  travelled 
about  distributing  portions  of  Scripture.  We  visited 
the  chief  towns  and  market-places  in  the  Shantung 
Promontory,   making   a  tour  of  about   one   hundred  and 


STUDYING   LANGUAGE  37 

fifty  miles.  On  my  return,  I  laid  before  our  little  Church 
in  Chefoo  the  fact  that  there  was  no  missionary  work 
done  in  the  promontory,  and  suggested  that  they  should 
select  one  of  their  number  and  send  him  forth  as  their 
missionary.  They  took  the  proposal  up  most  heartily 
and  undertook  to  support  him,  the  first  missionary  of 
our  native  Church. 

lo.  Trip  to   Manchuria   Selling  Gospels. 

During  1871  I  made  five  trips,  four  of  which  were 
short  ones,  in  the  neighbourhood  of  Chefoo,  the  fifth, 
however,  taking  us  six  hundred  miles  away  through  Man- 
churia to  Korea.  Again  my  companion  was  Mr.  Robert 
Lilley.  Korea  was  at  that  time  but  little  known  to 
foreigners,  every  attempt  to  enter  it  having  resulted  in 
the  massacre  of  travellers.  We  had  an  adventurous 
journey,  and  narrowly  escaped  capture  in  Korea. 

(a)  Threatened  Shipwreck. 

The  first  adventure  was  in  connection  with  a  threatened 
shipwreck.  We  were  running  from  Chefoo  to  New- 
chwang,  then  the  only  open  port  of  Manchuria,  in  a 
German  sailing  vessel,  before  a  strong  gale  from  the 
south.  At  dawn  next  morning  we  were  suddenly  thrown 
out  of  our  bunks  by  the  grounding  of  the  ship.  We 
found  ourselves  in  shallow  water,  and  as  each  high  wave 
passed  the  vessel  bumped  with  great  force  against  the 
bottom.  The  large  mirror  in  the  saloon  was  thrown 
down  on  the  floor  and  shivered  into  a  thousand  pieces. 
The  captain  laid  the  chart  on  the  table,  and  holding  the 
compass  in  his  trembling  hand,  said,  "  I  lost  her  two 
masts  last  year,  and  now  she  goes  altogether.  We  are 
here,"  pointing  to  a  place  south  of  the  mouth  of  the 
river.  We  suggested  that  he  had  probably  been  carried 
by  the  strong  gale  faster  than  his  reckoning,  and  that 
we  must  be  in  shallow  water  beyond  the  river's  mouth, 
so  that  if  we  tacked  south-west  we  would  soon  be  in 
deep  water.  This  he  did,  and  we  got  safely  to  New- 
chwang  with  only  a  little  damage  to  the  copper  sheathing 
of  the   ship. 


38  FORTY-FIVE   YEARS  IN  CHINA 

(b)  Sunstroke. 

My  next  adventure  was  caused  by  our  ignorance  of  the 
climate.  The  rainy  season  is  the  months  of  July  and 
August,  and  the  roads  were  impassable  because  of  the 
floods  and  mud.  We  were  forced  to  wait  a  fortnight 
before  we  could  engage  any  carts  to  venture  on  the 
journey  to  Moukden,  although  our  route  was  along  the 
chief  highway  connecting  with  the  Manchurian  capital. 
At  last  we  got  three  carts  with  two  mules  each,  loaded 
with  Gospels  and  tracts,  with  room  for  ourselves  and 
two  Chinese  servants.  On  the  day  we  were  to  start 
I  had  a  severe  headache,  and  Dr.  Watson,  one  of  about 
half  a  dozen  Europeans  in  Newchwang,  urged  me  to 
wait  another  day,  as  he  feared  I  had  a  slight  sunstroke. 
But  having  been  delayed  a  fortnight  waiting  for  carts, 
I  determined  to  push  on  at  once.  My  head  grew  worse 
and  worse.  I  could  not  ride  in  the  bumping  carts, 
nor  could  I  open  my  eyes,  for  rays  of  light  pierced 
them  as  with  lancet  thrusts.  My  friend  Lilley  made  me 
take  his  arm,  and  together  we  trudged  along  that  day 
for  about  thirty  li  (a  li  is  about  a  third  of  a  mile), 
arriving  in  the  evening  at  the  Chinese  town  of  New- 
chwang, after  which  the  port  had  been  called.  As  the 
day's  journey  had  made  my  head  worse,  we  decided 
that  I  should  take  a  dose  of  laudanum  to  send  me  to  sleep. 
We  had  a  small  medicine -chest  with  us,  but  unfortunately 
we  had  left  the  dose-book  behind.  We  differed  in 
our  recollection  of  how  many  drops  the  dose  should  be. 
Lilley  advised  the  larger  dose,  and  being  the  medical 
man  pro  tern.,  administered  it.  I  was  soon  fast  asleep 
and  woke  up  without  a  trace  of  headache.  Very  many 
years  after,  I  read  in  the  Lancet  tha,t  the  best  cure  for 
sunstroke  was  a  stiff  dose  of  laudanum.  Thus  we  had 
stumbled  on  the  best  remedy. 

In  order  to  prevent  a  Xiecurrence  of  sunstroike,  I  fastened 
a  pillow  on  my  head,  because  it  was  a  fine  non-conductor 
of  heat,  and  thus  proceeded  on  our  journey.  According 
to  European  notions  I  must  have  presented  a  comical 
sight.       However,    the    Chinese    took    no    notice    of    my 


STUDYING  LANGUAGE  39 

headgear,  but  were,  on  the  contrary,  highly  diverted 
by  Lilley's  helmet.  "  Look  at  the  man  with  the  wash- 
hand   basin  on   his   head  I  "   they   cried. 

(c)    Robbers. 

The  next  danger  in  Manchuria  arose  from  the  mis- 
government  of  the  country.  After  leaving  Moukden 
and  going  eastward,  we  were  told  there  were  bands  of 
robbers  infesting  the  country.  One  midnight  there  was 
loud  knocking  at  the  door  of  our  inn.  Some  carters 
were  calling  upon  the  innkeeper  to  open  the  doors 
and  let  them  in.  A  band  of  robbers  had  descended 
on  the  inn  ahead  of  us  where  they  had  been  staying, 
and  in  fright  they  had  taken  their  mules  and  escaped, 
leaving  their  carts  and  goods  at  the  mercy  of  the  brigands. 

Next  day  our  Chinese  servants,  hearing  this  tale,  were 
so  afraid  that  they  wanted  to  return  to  Chefoo,  but 
finding  we  were  determined  to  go  on,  their  sense  of 
honour  would  not  let  them  leave  us,  though  we  offered 
them  their  expenses  to  return.  We  then  decided  to 
divide  our  money,  so  that  if  some  of  us  were  robbed 
the  others  would  have  something  left.  This  was  not  an 
easy  process,  as  Chinese  silver  is  generally  current  in 
large  ingots,  each  about  the  size  of  one's  fist,  and  weigh- 
ing about  fifty  Chinese  ounces  or  sixty-six  English  ounces. 
This  lump  had  to  be  taken  to  the  smithy,  heated  red 
hot,  beaten  into  thin  slabs,  and  then  cut  into  square  bits 
of  about  an  ounce  or  two  in  weight.  These  square 
pieces  were  then  sewn  in  different  parts  of  our  clothes. 
Having  prepared  against  attack,  we  started  rather  late 
in  the  day. 

Every  man  we  met  on  the  road  was  armed  with  a 
pike  or  an  old  matchlock  across  his  shoulder.  We  were 
travelling  up  a  valley  along  a  road  on  the  right  side 
of  a  little  river,  and  keeping  a  sharp  look-out.  All  at 
once  the  cry  arose,  "  There  they  are  !  "  We  saw  ahead 
of  us  on  the  left  bank  some  tents,  and  we  counted  eleven 
horsemen  moving  upwards  towards  the  inn  for  which  we 
•were  making .  We  saw  that  they  would  intercept  us  before 
we  could  reach  the  inn.     We  therefore  turned  round  and 


40  FORTY-FIVE  YEARS   IN   CHINA 

made  for  a  farmyard  we  had  just  passed.  At  the  gate 
we  were  met  by  an  elderly  woman  of  about  sixty,  and 
we  asked  her  if  we  might  drive  our  carts  into  the  yard 
until  the  robbers  had  passed.  She  was  one  of  the  noblest, 
and  invited  us  to  enter  at  once.  "  I  have  reapers  in 
the  fields  ;  I  will  send  my  daughters  to  call  them  in  to 
protect  you.  I  did  not  know  that  you  spoke  our  language, 
or  I  would  have  asked  you  in  as  you  passed  before." 
We  drove  the  three  carts  inside  and  the  farm  gate  iwas 
shut. 

The  country  was  covered  with  a  fine  harvest  of  taU 
millet,  and  the  roads  wound  in  and  out  among  the  fields. 
We  could  not  see  the  mounted  robbers  approaching, 
as  the  millet  was  too  tall,  but  we  could  hear  the  patter 
of  the  ponies'  feet  as  they  came  nearer.  We  were 
dressed  in  European  costume  and  stood  inside  the  gate. 
The  riders  could  not  see  us  until  they  turned  a  cornier 
within  ten  yards  of  us.  At  the  sudden  sight  of  two 
Europeans  before  them  they  were  greatly  startled  and 
cried  out,  "  Ai  yah!  Liao  puh  teh!''  ("This  is 
awful  !  ").  Instantly  they  turned  their  ponies  and 
galloped  away,  firing  a  shot  as  a  signal  to  their 
companions.  We  then  counted  eleven  more  horsemen 
coming  from  the  tents  to  help  their  comrades. 

Meanwhile  we  discussed  whether  we  should  make  use 
of  our  revolvers,  for  our  friends  in  Chefoo  had  insisted 
that  while  travelling  through  a  perilous  country  we  should 
take  revolvers  with  us  in  self-defence.  Neither  of  us 
relished  the  idea  of  shooting  the  Chinese  whom  we  had 
come  to  save.  We  finally  decided  that  if  the  worst  came 
to  the  worst,  we  would  give  the  farmer  who  had  ofl:ered 
to  protect  us  the  benefit  of  our  revolvers.  So  we  thrust 
them  into  a  heap  of  straw  in  the  barn  and  went  out 
again    to    the    gate    unarmed. 

When  the  horsemen  came  up  the  second  time,  they 
turned  the  corner  cautiously  and  rode  up  to  the  gate 
armed  with  rifles  and  gingalls.  There  was  a  dead  silence 
for  a  few  moments  when  they  stopped.  Then  one  spoke 
to  the  man  who  appeared  to  be  the  leader,  "  What 
shall  we  do?     They  cannot  understand  us."     We  replied 


STUDYING  LANGUAGE  41 

that  we  could  understand  a  little,  and  they  asked  where  we 
came  from,  where  we  were  going,  and  what  was  our 
business.      We  told  them  we  were  selling  books. 

They  asked,  "  What  books?  "  Lilley,  who  was  some- 
thing of  a  wag,  replied,  "  Books  to  exhort  people  to 
do   good." 

"  You  do  not  mean  to  say  that  your  carts  are  full 
of  books  ?  " 

"  Yes,  indeed,"  we  replied.  "  We  will  bring  some 
of  them  to  show  you."  We  then  went  to  the  carts  ; 
each  brought  an  armful  out,  and  opening  the  gate  went 
outside  to  the  horsemen  to  present  them  with  our  books. 
Then  we  saw  that  their  firearms  were  cocked,  but  their 
hands  were  trembling  with  fear.  They  declined  the 
books,  as  they  could  not  read.  We  urged  them  to 
take  the  books  for  their  friends.  No,  the  friends  were 
ignorant  fellows  ;  they  did  not  want  anything  from  us. 
They  had  heard  there  were  foreigners  travelling  through 
the  country,  and  as  they  had  never  seen  any  before, 
they  had  merely  come  to  look  at  us.  Begging  us  not 
to  tell  the  official  where  they  were,  they  turned  their 
ponies  round  and  left  us,  firing  three  shots  as  another 
signal  to  their  party.  Thus  this  danger  passed  without 
injury  to  any. 

(d)  Sa  Ur  Ha. 

Scarcely  had  we  escaped  this  danger  than  we  were 
in  the  midst  of  a  greater  one.  The  day  was  spent,  and 
we  were  nearing  Sa  Ur  Hu,  an  important  town  in  our 
route.  Lilley  went  on  with  the  carts  to  secure  an  inn, 
while  I  remained  behind  at  a  village  to  sell  some  books. 
To  my  astonishment,  the  place  was  like  a  city  of  the 
dead.  There  were  houses,  but  not  a  soul  stirring.  I 
went  on  to  some  of  the  cross-streets,  but  they  were  also 
empty.  I  noticed  that  all  the  doors  and  windows  had 
been  filled  up  with  loose  bricks,  a  most  unusual  sight. 
Through  one  of  the  openings  between  the  bricks,  how- 
ever, I  caught  sight  of  people  moving  inside,  and  on 
listening  I  heard  them  whispering.  Not  suspecting  any 
harm,  I  called  out  that  I  had  books  to  sell.  After 
a  while,  out  of  a  side  street  there  came  a  man   walking 


42  FORTY-FIVE   YEARS  IN   CHINA 

very  cautiously,  I  showed  him  the  books,  and  he 
examined  them.  He  was  soon  convinced  by  my  imper- 
fect Chinese  that  I  was  a  foreigner,  thajt  I  was  alone,  and 
that  he  had  nothing  to  fear.  He  called  out  to  others  to 
come  out.  A  crowd  soon  gathered  and  I  had  a  fair 
sale  of  my  books.  But  I  was  still  at  a  loss  to  know 
why  the  people  had  barricaded  their  doors  and  windows. 

As  I  proceeded  to  the  market  town,  I  found  at 
every  few  yards  on  the  road  sentries  with  weapons  in 
their  hands.  On  reaching  the  town  I  saw  a  crowd 
gathered  outside  the  inn  where  my  friend  proved  to 
be.  The  whole  town  seemed  to  be  alive  with  persons 
fully  armed.  We  had  our  evening  meal  in  peace,  and 
before  retiring  went  to  look  at  our  carts.  But  no  sooner 
had  we  got  outside  the  door  than  a  shot  whizzed  past 
us.  We  could  not  tell  where  it  came  from.  The  carters 
said  the  place  was  very  dangerous  and  they  were  anxious 
to  pass  on. 

We  then  decided  that  we  must  keep  watch  in  turn 
that  night.  Never  before  had  I  found  my  knowledge  of 
Euclid  serve  me  so  well.  I  went  over  in  memory  the 
first  book,  proposition  by  proposition,  and  was  thus 
able   to  keep   awake. 

In  the  early  hours  of  the  morning,  through  the  loose 
curtain  that  hung  between  our  door  and  the  public  room 
of  the  inn,  I  saw  a  mule  pass,  apparently  from  the 
back-yard  through  the  general  room  to  the  front  door 
to  the  street.  After  a  few  seconds  another  mule  passed, 
and  another,  and  another.  I  cried  out  to  Lilley,  "  Wake 
up  at  once,  they  are  taking  our  mules  away  !  "  We 
rushed  into  the  general  room  and  discovered  a  single 
mule  grinding  corn.  Each  time  he  came  to  the  light 
near  our  room,  he  appeared  as  if  going  out  to  the  front. 
Thus  it  was  the  same  mule  that  had  passed  and  repassed. 
We  had  a  hearty  laugh  at  my  expense. 

When  we  rose,  however,  we  asked  the  innkeeper  why 
all  the  people  of  the  town  were  armed.  He  replied  by 
asking  :  "  Do  you  not  know?  It  was  rumoured  that  the 
robbers  had  put  on  European  dress.  So  when  you 
appeared  you   were   supposed   to    be   robbers." 


STUDYING  LANGUAGE  43 

(e)    Ling   Koi. 

Having  met  the  robbers,  and  the  people  defending 
themselves  from  the  robbers,  we  went  on  with  lighter 
hearts,  feeling  we  knew  the  cause  of  the  hostile  attitude 
towards  us.  False  rumours,  however,  have  a  way  of 
travelling  faster  than  true  reports.  When  we  arrived 
at  our  next  resting-place.  Ling  Kai,  we  could  find 
room  at  none  of  the  inns,  the  keepers  being  afraid  of 
foreign  robbers.  Finally,  to  the  east  of  the  town  we 
found  a  little  inn  where  we  foreigners  did  not  show 
ourselves,  but  sent  one  of  the  servants  to  inquire  for 
lodging.  There  was  room  for  us,  the  gate  was  thrown 
open,  and  the  three  carts  drove  into  the  courtyard.  But 
no  sooner  were  we  seen  than  the  innkeeper  cried  out 
that  there  was  no  room.  He  was  so  terrified  that  he 
got  into  the  chief  room  of  the  inn,  where  a  number  of 
guests  and  servants  gathered  round  him  ready  for  any 
attack  we  might  make  upon  them.  They  all  seemed  in  a 
great  fright,  and  the  innkeeper  protested  that  he  had 
not  a  single  room  left.  1  explained  that  we  had  tried  all 
the  inns  of  the  town  with  no  success.  But  if  he  really 
had  no  room,  we  would  sleep  in  our  carts. 

With  that  we  walked  out  and  doubled  ourselves  in  the 
cart,  intending  to  spend  the  night  there,  though  we  soon 
found  it  very  cold.  Fortunately  one  of  the  guests 
came  to  us  not  long  after  and  said  :  "You  cannot  stay 
in  the  cart  ;  it  is  too  cold.  Take  my  room,  and  I  will 
join  the  others."  We  followed  him  gladly  to  his  room, 
where  it  was  delightfully  warm,  with  a  fire  burning  in 
the  k'ang — the  brick  bed  to  be  found  in  every  sleeping- 
room.  We  then  set  about  getting  our  suppers.  Before 
we  had  finished  there  was  a  cry  outside  that  the  "  lao- 
yeh  "  had  come.  He  was  a  small  military  official  in 
full  dress,  with  boots  on  and  a  white  button  on  his  cap. 
He  had  come  at  the  request  of  the  innkeeper  to  say 
he  had  secured  a  place  for  us  elsewhere.  We  thanked 
him  for  his  kindness,  but  said  that  a  gentleman  had 
courteously  given  up  his  room  to  us,  and  we  could  not 
think  of  changing.  There  we  rested  in  peace  for  the  night. 


44  FORTY-FIVE   YEARS   IN   CHINA 

(f)   Lao  Ch'eng,  the  Old  Manchu  Capital. 

Our  next  stopping-place  was  at  Lao  Ch'eng  (the  Old 
City),  one  of  the  ancestral  fortresses  in  the  home  of  the 
Manchus.  It  was  built  on  a  rock  rising  perpendicu- 
larly on  three  sides  from  the  bed  of  a  river,  and  acces- 
sible only  on  the  fourth  side.  Thus  it  was  a  natural 
fortress  of  very  great  strength.  The  inn  where  we  spent 
the  night  had  evidently  been  a  jail,  for  attached  to 
the  top  beam  of  the  k'ang,  and  opposite  the  bed  of 
each  guest,  were  strong  iron  links  to  which  the  queues 
or  handcuffs  of  the  prisoners   must  have  been   fastened. 

Next  morning  we  went  out  to  sell  books,  one  to  the 
east  side  of  the  city,  the  other  to  the  west.  A  crowd 
gathered  round  each,  greatly  curious  to  see  the  foreigner 
in  their  midst  and  to  examine  his  books.  As  I  was 
explaining  their  meaning,  there  appeared  a  ruffianly  man 
with  a  greasy  dress  and  a  savage  look,  holding  a  stout 
horsewhip  in  his  hand.  He  flung  this  out  among  the 
crowd,  telling  them  not  to  press  round,  and  so  made 
a  wide  circle  round  me.  Not  a  soul  dared  come  near 
because  of  his  fierce  attitude.  Seeing  this,  1  expostulated 
with  him.  "What  are  you  doing?  Who  are  you  to 
interfere  with  my  work  ?  1  have  an  edict  from  the 
Emperor  authorizing  me  to  sell  these  books.  How  dare 
you  prevent  the  people  from  coming  if  they  wish  to 
buy?"  At  this  the  man  looked  apparently  over  my 
head,  and  so  did  all  the  crowd.  Turning  round,  I 
discovered  an  official  standing  close  behind  me  in  a 
magnificent  dress  and  with  a  blue  button  on  his  hat. 
Hearing  that  I  had  an  Imperial  edict  allowing  the  sale  of 
the  books,  he  became  very  civil,  and  I  was  able  to 
sell  some  of  them  to  the  people.  At  the  end  of  the 
day  I  found  that  my  friend  had  had  a  similar  experience 
with  a  mandarin   wearing  a   red  button. 

That  night  the  two  mandarins  must  have  consulted, 
for  next  morning  the  superior  sent  us  his  card  to  say 
that  as  we  were  strangers  in  a  strange  land  and  might 
get  into  difficulties  from  the  hands  of  ignorant  people, 
he    had    appointed    six    mounted    soldiers    to    accompany 


STUDYING  LANGUAGE  45 

us  all  along  the  way.  To  our  delight,  these  soldiers 
were  most  friendly,  and  at  every  place  we  stopped  helped 
us  to  sell  our  books.  When  we  came  to  the  end  of 
their  official's  jurisdiction  they  expressed  a  wish  to  go 
with   us  the   whole  way  back  to   Shantung,   their  home. 

(g)    Extraordinary   Currency. 

On  arriving  at  Kien  Ch'ang,  on  the  border  between 
Manchuria  and  Korea,  there  was  a  most  extraordinary 
confusion  of  coinage.  We  had  to  reconstruct  our 
calculations,  for  we  found  that  straightforward  arithmetic 
would  have  ruined  us.  In  that  region  sixteen  cash 
counted  as  a  hundred,  and  i6o  as  a  thousand.  The 
reason  for  this  was  that  there  had  been  once  a  general 
whose  payment  to  his  soldiers  had  been  far  in 
arrears.  In  parting  from  them,  he  could  only  pay 
them  sixteen  cash  for  every  hundred,  and  from  that 
day  that  reckoning  held  good.  Bad  as  this  reckoning 
was,  matters  were  worse  when  we  came  to  banknotes .  We 
exchanged  our  ounces  of  silver  into  cash,  and  were  given 
bills  to  the  amount  of  fourteen  thousand  cash  for  each 
ounce,  but  when  we  came  to  exchange  these  bills  for 
cash,  we  could  never  get  the  face  value  of  them,  but 
only  ten  thousand  cash.  In  this  way  the  poor  people 
in  the  far-off  mountains  of  Manchuria  were  absolutely 
at   the    mercy    of   distant   officials   or   local   capitalists. 

(h)   Some  Features  of  Interest  in  Manchuria. 

During  these  days  we  came  to  a  most  extraordinary 
geological  formation,  as  if  all  the  roads  had  been  turned 
edgeways  like  the  leaves  of  a  book,  a  spot  that  would 
have  delighted  the  heart  of  any  geologist.  We  had 
come  through  lands  of  rich  soil  yielding  magnificent 
harvests,  and  later  we  reached  the  banks  of  the  Yalu, 
where  the  soft  grass  under  our  feet  reminded  us  of 
meadow-land  at  home.  In  another  place  we  passed 
through  a  superb  avenue  of  tall  trees,  with  wild 
grapes  hanging  in  rich  clusters  from  the  branches  over- 
head. Pears  were  rotting  on  the  ground,  without  even 
pigs  to  eat  them.     At  the  same  time  we  learnt  that  only 


46  FORTY-FIVE   YEARS   IN   CHINA 

thirty  miles  away  there  was  a  famine  in  Korea,  and 
mothers  were  selling  their  children  in  order  to  buy  food 
to  keep  body  and  soul  together.  All  this  distress  arose 
from  ignorance  of  the  value  of  roads  and  communications. 

(i)  Adventure  at  Korean  Gate. 

Outside  Feng  Hwang  Ch'ing,  the  last  city  before 
reaching  the  border  of  Manchuria,  was  the  Korean  Gate, 
which  marked  the  boundary,  and  was  built  on  the  plain, 
but  with  no  wall  on  either  side  of  it.  Beyond  it  was 
a  neutral  strip  of  country  varying  in  width  from  ten 
to  fifty  miles,  within  which  neither  Chinese  nor  Koreans 
were  supposed  to  live.  This  was  to  prevent  strife 
between  the  two  nationalities.  How  primitive  their 
notions  !  When  we  reached  Feng  Hwang  Ch'ing  we 
found  about  a  thousand  soldiers  en  route  for  this  neutral 
strip.  The  officers  told  us  that  they  had  orders  to 
capture  a  certain  Liu  King  K'ai  who  was  at  large  in  this 
piece  of  country.  He  was  a  rebel  who  had  been  usurping* 
the  powers  of  government  as  if  he  had  been  an  official, 
and  had  about  six  hundred   followers  with  him. 

As  the  troops  were  in  no  hurry  to  leave  Feng  Hwang 
Ch'ing,  and  we  could  not  wait  to  travel  in  their  company, 
we  took  the  opportunity  of  entering  the  Korean  Gate 
ourselves.  We  went  some  distance  over  the  hill  and 
down  to  a  valley  beyond,  where  flowed  a  stream  of 
limpid  water,  on  the  banks  of  which  was  a  carpet  of 
fine  grass.  Here  we  stopped  our  carts,  ate  some  food, 
and  dirank  the  clear  water  of  the  stream.  While  we 
were  thus  refreshing  ourselves,  a  Chinaman  suddenly 
appeared,  and  pointing  to  a  hill  beyond  which  we  could 
see  two  horsemen  dressed  in  a  peculiar  costume,  said, 
"Those  two  are  the  scouts  of  Liu  King  K'ai.  They 
bode  no  good  for  you.  You  had  better  go  back,  for 
he  has  six  hundred  followers  in  the  next  valley."  At 
this  we  mounted  our  carts  and  told  the  men  to  drive 
back  as  fast  as  the  mules  could  go.  On  getting  back 
to  Feng  Hwang  Ch'ing,  we  heard  more  of  the  exploits 
of  Liu  King  K'ai.  In  that  part  of  Manchuria  the 
magistrates  were  as  far  apart  as  five  hundred  li.     Conse- 


STUDYING  LANGUAGE  47 

quently,  if  trouble  arose  in  any  village  the  dispute  could 
not  be  settled  until  people  had  travelled  a  good  part 
of  that  distance  to  see  the  magistrate.  To  save  time 
and  trouble,  this  Liu  King  K'ai  had  often  acted  as 
arbitrator,  and  had  given  such  satisfaction  that  the  people 
always  went  to  him,  and  thus  his  fame  and  influence 
had  rapidly  spread.  He  was  regarded  by  them  not 
as  a  rebel,  but  as  a  benefactor. 

(j)  Bad  Government. 

In  Manchuria  the  roads  were  frozen  like  iron  during 
the  winter,  and  hundreds  of  farmers'  carts  passed  up 
and  down  the  high-road  to  Newchwang.  But  beyond 
the  one  or  two  great  highways,  the  numerous  valleys 
were  practically  without  any  roads.  The  carters  there- 
fore used  the  dry  beds  of  rivers,  which,  though  flooded 
during  the  rainy  season,  ran  dry  after  the  water  flowed 
down  to  the  sea.  They  drove  their  carts  over  the  rough 
stone  beds,  which  frequently  had  big  boulders  in  the 
way.  To  overcome  these  difficulties  the  carters  travelled 
in  company  with  several  others,  so  that  when  the  mule 
of  one  cart  could  not  pull  it  out  of  a  deep  hole  or  over 
a  big  boulder,  five  or  ten  mules  from  other  carts  were 
hitched  on,  and  so  progress  was  possible.  As  the  cities 
where  the  district  magistrate  resided  to  administer  justice, 
the  bankers  exchanged  silver  and  paper  money,  and  the 
farmers  could  sell  or  buy  produce,  were  often  situated 
five  hundred  li  apart,  life  was  very  hard  to  bear. 

Seeing  the  Government  so  regardless  of  the  security 
of  the  people,  it  was  no  wonder  that  the  farmers  found 
it  to  their  interest  to  pay  the  robbers  every  winter  a 
sort  of  insurance  money,  which  enabled  them  to  travel 
without  fear  of  being  robbed.  The  insured  carts  would 
carry  flags  which  the  robbers  recognized,  and  they 
would  sometimes  escort  the  farmers  safely  through 
dangerous  parts. 

As  for  the  accommodation  in  the  inns,  beyond  the 
cheering  fact  that  there  was  fire  under  the  k'angs,  there 
was  little  to  rejoice  in.  In  one  place  we  slept  on  a 
large   k'ang    with    thirty -seven    other    travellers,    one   of 


48  FORTY-FIVE   YEARS   IN   CHINA 

whom  was  a  woman.  Seeing  how  the  people  suffered 
from  lack  of  proper  government,  and  that  the  very  man 
who  was  improving  matters  was  regarded  by  the  Govern- 
ment as  a  rebel,  we  felt  that  the  dark  places  of  the 
earth  were  indeed  full  of  the  habitations  of  cruelty.  As 
we  turned  our  steps  b^ack  toward  Newchang",  we  wondered 
when  the  day  would  come  when  this  land,  which  in  so 
many  respects  might  be  said  to  be  "  flowing  with  milk 
and  honey,"  would  be  properly  governed,  and  the  people 
be    happy    and   prosperous. 

1 1 .   Street   Preaching   not   Productive   of 
Satisfactory  Results. 

When  at  home  at  Chefoo  in  1872,  I  went  to  the  chapel 
to  preach  every  day,  as  was  the  custom  of  all  the 
missionaries  in  those  days.  I  did  not  find  the  preaching 
very  productive  of  good  results,  and  was  consequently 
considerably  discouraged.  1  learnt  that  many  of  the 
native  business  houses  had  taken  an  oath  together  never 
to  countenance  the  foreign  preaching  by  entering  a 
chapel.  Those  who  attended  the  services,  therefore,  were 
for  the  moist  part  stray  visitors  from  the  country  passing 
by,  who  came  out  of  curiosity  to  see  the  foreigner  and 
his   barbarous    costume. 

In  my  evangelistic  work  during  the  first  two  years  in 
Chefoo  I  had  tried  street-chapel  preaching  without  any 
success  worth  mentioning.  I  then  began  to  follow  the 
plan  of  "  seeking  the  worthy,"  as  our  Lord  commanded, 
for  I  found  that  they  constituted  the  "  good  ground  "  in 
which  to  sow  the  seed. 

12.  Visit  to  Salt  Manufacturer,  perhaps  a 
Lost  Nestorian. 

Hearin'g  of  a  devout  man  living  some  eight  miles 
from  Chefoo,  I  sent  word  asking  if  1  might  call  on 
him.  He  replied  that  he  would  be  glad  to  see  me. 
He  was  a  manufacturer  of  salt,  obtaining  it  from  the 
sea  by  evaporating  the  water  in  shallow  beds.  He  was 
perhaps  sixty  years  of  age.  I  took  with  me  some 
Gospels,  a  few  tracts,  and  a  hymn-book,  and  he  received 


STUDYING  LANGUAGE  49 

me  with  great  kindness,  and  insisted  on  my  having  a 
meal  with  him  whilst  we  talked  of  religion.  After  a 
time  he  took  me  into  an  inner  room,  spotlessly  clean, 
and  said  to  me,  "  This  is  the  place  where  I  worship 
daily." 

On  my  showing  the  hymn-book  to  him,  he  picked  out 
one  of  the  hymns  which  spoke  of  the  fleeting  character 
of  this  world  and  said,  "This  hymn  is  ours." 

I  opened  my  eyes  in  astonishment  and  asked  what 
he  meant.  He  replied  that  his  religious  sect  used  it 
regularly  in  their  worship.  He  told  me  various  other 
things  about  his  religion.  As  this  was  the  first  time 
I  had  met  a  man  of  his  stamp,  I  was  dumb,  and  felt 
that  his  religious  experience  was  not  only  much  earlier 
than  mine,  but  possessed  p.  depth  which  astonished  me. 
After  a  long,  happy  day  together,  he  insisted  on 
accompanying  me  back  to  Chefoo  over  the  hills,  and 
though  several  times  on  the  road  I  begged  him  to  go 
back,  he  came  with  me  the  whole  way  to  the  door  of 
the  hospital  where  1  was  living.  I  never  saw  him  again, 
but  have  always  felt  that  he,  if  not  a  Christian, 
was  at  any  rate  not  far  from  the  Kingdom  of  God.  My 
knowledge  of  the  Chinese  language  and  history 
of  religion  was  too  imperfect  at  that  time  for  me  to 
take   advantage   of  that   most  rare   opportunity. 

13.    Fair  at   Hwui   Lung   San. 

I  decided  to  go  to  the  country  with  a  native 
evangelist  and  see  what  would  be  the  result  of  preaching 
to  large  gatherings.  I  learnt  that  in  the  springtime  there 
were  gteat  fairs  in  various  places,  attended  by  crowds 
of  people  from  the  neighbouring  districts.  These  were 
held  every  year  at  some  famous  temple.  People  from 
scores  of  villages  came  up  in  procession  with  flying 
banners  and  drums,  and  cymbals,  and  went  into  the 
temple  to  worship.  By  noon  the  worship  of  the  various 
processions  would  be  over,  and  all  would  join  the  fair, 
where  horses,  mules  and  donkeys,  and  cattle,  together 
with  all  sorts   of  agricultural  implements,   were  on   sale. 

One    of    the    most    celebrated    fairs    in    the    east    of 

4 


50  FORTY-FIVE   YEARS   IN   CHINA 

the  Shantung  Promontory  was  at  Hwoii  Lung  San,  a 
mountain  on  which  was  a  noted  temple,  near  the  market 
town   of   Sung  Tsun. 

Thither  I  went  on  horseback,  followed  by  two  mules, 
one  ridden  by  my  assistant,  the  other  laden  with  two 
boxes  of  Gospels,  tracts,  and  books.  Arriving  at  the 
place  ahead  of  the  mules,  I  went  to  an  inn,  but  was 
told  there  was  no  room.  On  receiving  the  same  answer 
at  the  only  other  inn  in  the  place,  I  suspected  that  the 
reason  for  it  was  that  the  innkeepers  had  no  wish  to 
harbour  the  foreigner.  I  was  not  distressed  about  the 
matter,  feeling  sure  that  if  I  had  been  called  to  work 
there  God  would  somehow  open  up  a  way.  I  took 
my  pony  to  a  big  stone  in  the  middle  of  the  street,  where 
I  alighted  and  sat,  holding  the  pony's  reins  in  my  hand. 
A  crowd  soon   gathered. 

"Do  you  not  want  your  horse  fed?"  asked  one. 

"Certainly,"    I   replied.      "But   where?" 

"  Give  him  to  me  and  I  will  see  to  him,"  and  he  took 
the  horse  and  walked  into  the  first  inn,  while  I  remained 
sitting  on  the  stone. 

Within  ten  minutes  every  one  in  the  little  market 
town  knew  all  about  me  and  my  intentions. 

Presently,  a  cook  with  a  greasy  apron  came  up  and 
said  :  "  My  master  has  heard  that  the  inns  are  afraid 
of  taking  you  in.  He  has  an  empty  house,  and  if  you 
like  to   stay  there,   you  are  welcome." 

I  went  with  him,  and  found  the  empty  house  much 
more  comfortable  than  either  of  the  inns.  My  host 
was  the  chief  man  in  the  place.  His  great-grandfather 
had  been  a  Governor  of  one  of  the  provinces.  As  the 
fair  was  not  to  begin  for  a  fortnight,  he  offered  me 
the  use  of  the  house  until  then.  He  had  two  sons, 
about  my  age,  who  were  studying  to  take  their  Sui-ts'ai 
(often  spoken  of  as  equivalent  to  our  B.A.  degree). 
They  were  very  intelligent  and  anxious  to  hear  about 
the  world  outside,  of  which  they  could  gather  no 
knowledge  from  their  books.  All  the  schoolmasters  from 
the  villages  round  about  came  to  see  me,  and  we  held 
long  talks  on  foreign  civilization  and  religion,   I  on  my 


STUDYING  LANGUAGE  51 

part  getting  as  much  information  as  I  could  as  to  their 
rcHgion  and  civilization.  When  not  besieged  by  visitors 
I  studied  Chinese  literature. 

A  day  or  two  before  the  fair  commenced,  I  proposed 
to  visit  the  temple  on  the  mountain.  One  of  my  host's 
sons  accompanied  me.  It  was  a  fine  temple,  in  charge 
of  some  Buddhist  priests.  I  asked  if  I  might  speak 
to  the  crowd  at  the  fair.  No  objection  was  made.  The 
young  man  asked  where  I  would  like  to  stand.  Looking 
round  the  place,  I  noticed  a  tower  between  two  court- 
yards, commanding  a  good  view  of  both,  and  chose  it 
as  the  spot  from  which  I  would  address  the  people. 
The  young  man  ordered  the  priest  to  put  up  a  ladder 
there  so  that  I  could  easily  mount  to  the  tower. 

On  the  day  of  the  fair  I  went  to  the  top  of  the  hill, 
and  found  innumerable  crowds  of  people  thronging  the 
place  and  selling  all  sorts  of  requirements  needed  by 
the  farmers.  They  gathered  round  me,  pressing  from 
all  sides  to  have  a  peep  at  the  foreigner,  as  they  had 
never  seen  one  before.  I  was  literally  carried  off  my 
feet,  but  I  steered  for  the  temple,  and  in  time  arrived 
there.  I  found  the  ladder  ready  and  mounted  to  the 
tower.  From  this  vantage-point  I  had  a  good  view 
of  everything  that  took  place.  The  morning  was  taken 
up  by  a  series  of  processions,  with  music  and  banners 
and  drums,  from  scores  of  villages  round,  each  one  in 
turn  going  to  the  temple  to  burn  incense  and  bow 
before  the  idols.  The  music  was  an  interminable  din, 
caused  by  drums,  gongs,  and  cymbals.  By  noon  the 
last  village  had  paid  its  respects  to  the  gods,  and  there 
was  a  lull  in  the  noise. 

I  took  advantage  of  this  opportunity,  and  spoke  for 
a  long  time  as  well  as  I  could  to  the  people  in  both 
courtyards,  who  manifested  great  patience  in  listening 
to  the  foreigner  addressing  them  in  imperfect  Chinese. 
When  I  saw  how  attentively  they  were  listening,  I  might 
have  been  tempted  to  say,  as  did  another  missionary 
once,  that  "  thousands  were  hanging  on  my  lips."  How- 
ever, discounting  the  interest  of  a  good  many  as  curiosity, 
I  was  inclined  to  think  that  some  were  genuinely  anxious 


52  FORTY-FIVE   YEARS   IN   CHINA 

to  hear  more  about  the  countries  of  the  West  and  their 
religion,  for  at  the  close  several  came  up  to  me  and 
invited   me   to   visit   their  villages. 

This  was  my  most  memorable  attempt  at  preaching 
to  a  vast  crowd.  I  had  not  then  learned  that  it  was 
not  the  most  effective  way  of  doing  missionary  work. 
The  friendship  commenced  with  the  chief  man  of  Sung 
Tsun  and  his  son  continued  for  many  years,  and  when- 
ever they  were  in  Chefoo  they  came  to  call  on  me. 

14.  Attempt  to  Settle  in  Ninghai.     1872. 

From  the  beginning  of  my  work  in  Chefoo,  I  felt 
that  there  was  no  need  for  a  number  of  missionaries  to 
live  together  at  the  ports  while  the  interior  was  un- 
occupied. I  therefore  took  trips  inland  to  inspect  the 
country  and  find  suitable  conditions  for  missionary  work. 

The  first  place  that  attracted  my  attention  was  the 
city  of  Ninghai,  only  twenty  miles  from  Chefoo,  and  I 
thought  I  might  rent  a  house  there  and  settle  down  to 
work.  But  I  was  doomed  to  disappointment.  The  man 
I  sent  to  rent  a  house  was  successful  ;  but  no  sooner 
had  the  news  spread  that  a  foreigner  was  to  live  there 
than  trouble  arose.  The  landlord  was  arrested,  beaten, 
and  put  in  jail.  In  this  predicament  he  sent  me  a 
letter  relating  his  trouble  and  begging  me  to  save  him. 

I  went  to  see  the  British  Consul  in  Chefoo,  who  said 
we  must  put  the  matter  through,  and  gave  me  a  letter 
for  the  Ninghai  magistrate.  But  neither  the  Consul 
nor  I  knew  the  true  attitude  of  the  Chinese  Govern- 
ment and  the  people  towards  foreigners  at  that  time. 
Armed  with  the  Consul's  letter,  I  arrived  in  the  city 
and  called  on  the  official.  He  immediately  put  on  his 
official  robes  and  received  me  in  grand  style,  appearing 
exceedingly  friendly.  This  was  the  first  interview  1  ever 
had  with  a  Chinese  official.  I  returned  to  my  inn, 
hoping  things   would   soon  be  satisfactorily  arranged. 

Within  half  an  hour  the  magistrate  returned  my  call 
at  the  inn  where  I  was  staying.  While  he  was  with 
me  a  dozen  of  the  elders  of  the  city  entered  and  fell 
on  their  knees  before  the  official,  begging  that  no  houses 


STUDYING   LANGUAGE  53 

should  be  rented  to  foreigners.  The  magistrate  replied 
that  the  power  to  refuse  rested  not  with  him,  but  lay 
with  me.  Then  they  turned  on  me,  and  on  their  knees 
implored  me  not  to  insist  on  renting  the  house.  As  I 
was  then  inexperienced  in  Chinese  matters,  all  I  said 
was  that  the  matter  had  been  arranged  by  the  Consul 
and  that  1  had  no  power  to  change  his  decision.  As 
my  action  was  quite  within  the  bounds  of  the  treaties 
between  England  and  China,  I  asked  that  the  landlord 
be  set  at  liberty,  and  not  persecuted.  But  the  interview 
proved  fruitless. 

Thinking  I  had  a  right  to  the  house,  I  took  posses- 
sion of  it.  The  Chinese,  who  had  some  experience 
with  foreigners  in  Chefoo,  expressed  their  sentiments  in 
a  doggerel  that  ran  thus  : — 

If  you  wish  to  be  destroyed, 
Be  by  foreigners  employed. 

This  verse,  repeated  everywhere  in  Ninghai,  fanned 
the  anti -foreign  feeling  into  a  blaze,  and  my  action 
roused  much  indignation.  When  I  went  for  a  walk, 
crowds  of  children  and  grown-up  ruffians  followed  me, 
shouting  "  Foreign  devil  !  "  and  all  manner  of  evil 
epithets  after  me,  and  throwing  gravel  and  dirt  at  me, 
while  at  night  they  came  in  the  dark,  plastering  my 
door  with  all  kinds  of  filth.  My  native  assistant  urged 
me  strongly  to  complain  of  my  treatment  to  the  official, 
but  even  then,  as  stated  in  my  report  of  the  year  to  the 
Baptist  Missionary  Society,  it  was  my  principle  never 
to  call   for   official  aid  unless  absolutely  necessary. 

Then  it  was  that  I  sought  to  find  what  our  Lord 
would  have  counselled.  Two  thoughts  presented  them- 
selves to  my  mind.  One  was  that  if  God  had  really 
called  me  to  be  a  missionary.  He  would  at  the  same 
time  have  prepared  some  of  the  Chinese  to  hear  my 
message.  There  seemed  no  one  in  Ninghai  prepared 
to  receive  it.  Further,  the  words  of  our  Lord  were, 
"  If  they  persecute  you  in  one  place,  flee  to  another." 
vSo   I   decided  to  leave,  feeling  persuaded  that  God  had 


54  FORTY-FIVE   YEARS   IN   CHINA 

prepared  some  other  place  where  the  people  would 
be  willing  to  hear  me.  I  left  the  city  without  saying 
a  word  either  to  officials  or  elders. 

15.  Visit  to  a  Devout  Seeker  after  Truth. 

Among  the  titles  I  next  visited  was  Lai  Yang,  eighty 
miles  to  the  south  of  Chef 00.  Here  I  stayed  a  fortnight. 
After  preaching  in  the  street,  I  had  a  talk  with  two 
intelligent  Buddhist  priests,  who  freely  discussed  the 
merits  of  Christianity  and  Buddhism.  A  scholar  named 
Wang  followed  me  to  the  inn,  and  put  two  striking 
questions  to  me,  "  What  must  one  do  to  be  accepted 
of  God?"  and  "Why  was  there  need  for  Christ  to 
die  for  mankind?" 

Another  man  named  Liu  had  the  reputation  of  being 
a  seeker  after  truth,  and  my  visit  to  him  taught  me  an 
important  lesson,  which  it  would  be  well  for  every  in- 
tending missionary  to  learn  before  coming  out.  I  quote 
from  a  letter  at  that  time  : — 

"  We  entered  a  long,  narrow  room,  or  rather  a  barn, 
for  there  was  straw  piled  up  on  both  sides,  leaving 
but  a  narrow  path  up  the  middle.  At  the  end  of  this 
path  was  a  table,  where  Liu  sat  facing  us.  To  his 
right  was  the  only  window  of  the  room.  Before  him 
were  three  books,  one  Confucian,  one  Taoist  (the  Book 
of  Changes),  and  the  third  Christian.  On  my  inquiring 
which  of  the  three  books  was  true,  he  answered  that 
they  were  all  true,  that  each  of  them  must  have  come 
from  Heaven.  And  this  was  not  a  casual  remark,  but 
his  firm  conviction.  I  took  the  New  Testament  which 
was  before  him  and  put  a  few  questions  to  ascertain 
how  far  he  understood  it.  There  were  others  present, 
two  very  much  interested,  one  lying  down  on  the  straw 
making  occasional  remarks,  the  other  standing  like  a 
statue  in  the  narrow  passage  during  the  whole  con- 
versation. At  the  door  others  chatted  and  cracked 
jokes,  caring  little  about  the  foreigner's  visit.  Liu  came 
to  me  for  another  conversation  before  I  left  the  city." 

Though  I  never  saw  these  men  again,  my  interviews 
with  them  were  not  without  result,  as  the  sequel  will  show . 


STUDYING   LANGUAGE  65 

This  visit  to  Mr.  Liu  in  Lai  Yang  brought  before 
my  mind  the  necessity  of  devising  means  to  free  the 
Chinese  philosophers  from  the  chains  of  superstition  by 
which  they  were  bound  in  the  theory  of  Yin  Yang  and 
the  five  elements  through  which  they  explained  all  the 
mysterious  wonders  of  heaven  and  earth'.  One  means 
of  dispelling  their  ignorance  was  to  give  a  few  lectures 
with  experiments  on  physics  and  chemistry,  and  this 
I  did  to  my  Chinese  assistants  when  I  returned  to  Chefoo 
by  ocular  demonstrations,  giving  them  true  conceptions 
of  the  laws  of  natural  philosophy. 

1 6.  Striking  Essay   on   Jesus    Christ   by  a   Non- 
Christian. 

In  the  spring  of  1872  a  new  method  of  missionary 
work  was  started,  which  I  have  made  use  of  from  time 
to  time  ever  since,  as  it  has  shown  wonderful  possi- 
bilities  in    reaching   thinking   men   in   their   homes. 

A  Shanghai  newspaper  (probably  Dr.  Allen's  pub- 
lication) offered  a  prize  for  the  best  Chinese  essay  in 
answer  to  the  question,   "Whom  say  ye  that  I  am?" 

In  1873  ^  Sui-ts'ai  (B.A.)  brought  his  son  to  Chefoo 
to  have  his  eyes  attended  to  by  Dr.  Brown,  and  while 
he  stayed  in  the  hospital  he  read  our  Christian  books, 
among  them  the  Gospel  of  St.  John,  and  our  news- 
papers. In  one  of  them  he  found  a  notice  of  the  com- 
petition referred  to  above,  and  wrote  a  most  striking 
essay,  which  1  translated  and  sent  to  the  Baptist 
Mission.  The  following  extracts  are  from  his  essay  : — 
I  am  like  the  salt  taste  in  the  sea.  Seek  it,  and  you 
cannot  find  it.  I  am  like  the  fragrance  of  the  flower. 
Seize  it,  but  it  eludes  your  grasp.  Men  think  that  I 
dwell  where  there  is  form,  but  they  do  not  seek  me 
where  there  is  no  form.  Should  they  by  chance  meet 
me  they  would  not  know  me,  but  before  my  face  mistake 
me.  He  who  recognizes  me  must  be  a  true  believer 
in   me." 

"  That  which  can  be  scattered,  shaped,  and  killed 
is  matter,  but  I  am  that  which  is  complete,  all -pene- 
trating,  and    without    form.      You    seek    me    above    and 


56  FORTY-FIVE   YEARS  IN   CHINA 

look  up,  but  forget  that  I  am  below  as  well.  You 
ask  for  me  before  you,  and  hasten  after  me,  but  forget 
that   I   am  also  behind." 

"  Of  all  things  mysterious  under  the  sun  the  greatest 
mystery  is  the  Reality  which  remains  for  ever." 

"  I  am  matter,  matter  is  I.  I  existed,  and  matter 
and  I  were  two.  I  am  the  Word,  the  Word  is  1. 
I  existed,  and  the  Word  and  I  were  two.  1  am  the 
Father,  the  Father  is  in  me.  I  existed,  and  I  and 
the  Father  were  not  in  each  other." 

"  I  am  neither  rest  nor  action.  Those  who  truly 
believe  in  me  will  have  the  principle  of  life.  Those 
who  love  the  living  God  shall  become  living  spirits. 
Those  who  do  not  believe  in  me  are  walking 
corpses." 

Though  the  Chinese  mystic  wrote  in  a  spirit  worthy 
of  Pulsford,  the  Missionary  Committee  were  probably 
right  in  considering  the  views  enunciated  by  him  not 
sufficiently  edifying  to  the  Christian  public  at  home, 
and  the  translation,  interesting  in  itself,  was  not  therefore 
published. 

17.  First  Visit  to  Chi-nan  fu.  1873. 
In  the  autumn  of  1873,  i^  company  with  my  friend 
Mr.  Lilley  and  Mr.  Mclntyre  of  the  United  Presby- 
terian Mission  in  Chef 00,  I  visited  Chi-nan  fu,  the  capital 
of  Shantung  province,  a  place  over  three  hundred  miles 
from  Chef 00.  There  we  were  able  to  see  at  work 
perhaps  one  of  the  most  remarkable  educational  systems 
on  the  face  of  the  earth.  At  that  time  Chinese  scholars 
were  examined  once  a  year  in  each  of  the  fourteen 
hundred  counties  of  the  Empire  by  Government  inspectors 
for  their  matriculation.  The  Sui-ts'ai  degree  was  con- 
ferred once  in  three  years  simultaneously  over  the  Empire, 
and  later  the  Sui-ts'ai  met  in  their  respective  provincial 
capitals  as  candidates  for  their  Ch3-ren  degree,  the 
equivalent  of  our  M.A.  We  found  some  twelve  thousand 
scholars  already  assembled,  although  only  the  best 
ninety -five  were  to  be  entitled  to  the  degree.  Imme- 
diately after  the  civil  examination  took  place  a  military 


STUDYING  LANGUAGE  57 

one  was  held,  attended  by  some  thousand  candidates. 
We  saw  but  few  of  the  civil  candidates,  as  disturbances 
against  foreigners  had  been  created  by  similar  scholars 
in  Hangchow,  and  we  had  to  exercise  caution  on 
meeting  them,  but  we  mixed  freely  with  the  military 
students. 

Mr.  Mclntyre  and  Mr.  Lilley  returned  to  Chefoo  soon 
after  the  examination  had  taken  place,  but  I  remained 
for  five  months. 

1 8.  Baptism  of  Military  Officer  in  Chi-nan  fu. 

At  this  time  I  met  a  very  interesting  lieutenant  from 
the  province  of  Honan,  who  frequently  came  to  see 
me  at  my  inn  and  wanted  to  become  a  Christian.  In 
the  end  I  baptized  him  by  immersion  in  the  beautiful 
lake  of  the  city,  the  first  baptism  of  the  kind  ever 
witnessed  there.  The  sight  of  two  men  walking  into 
the  clear  waters  of  the  lake  immediately  attracted  a 
large  number  of  spectators  in  the  south-west  suburb. 
Directly  after  the  ceremony  the  lieutenant,  on  landing, 
while  his  clothes  were  still  dripping,  addressed  the  crowd 
and  explained  the  meaning  of  the  rite  in  a  most 
interesting  manner. 

Curiously  enough,  on  that  very  day,  Mr.  Ch'ing,  the 
pastor  1  had  left  behind  in  Chefoo,  baptized  two  con- 
verts there,  one  of  whom  had  been  sent  to  him  for 
teaching  by  Mr.  Wang,  the  other  being  Mr.  Liu,  of 
Lai   Yang,   mentioned   above. 

19.  Mohammedans  in  Chi-nan  fu. 

Whilst  at  Chi-nan  fu  I  was  interested  to  find  two  large 
Mohammedan  mosques  attended  by  a  considerable  follow- 
ing. I  tried  to  find  if  the  Koran  had  been  translated 
into  Chinese,  but  was  told  no  such  translation  had  been 
made,  though  there  were  two  works  in  Chinese  (not 
for  sale)  which  gave  the  substance  of  the  Mohammedan 
faith.  I  also  learned  that,  though  the  Mohammedans 
devoted  much  time  to  the  study  of  Arabic  and  Persian, 
they  were,  as  a  rule,  lamentably  ignorant  of  Chinese 
literature . 


58  FORTY-FIVE  YEARS   IN   CHINA 

20.    MClLVAINE,    THE    FiRST    PROTESTANT    MISSIONARY 
IN   Chi-nan  FU. 

Up  to  that  time  no  missionary  in  China  had  written 
any  Christian  books  for  use  among  Mohammedans  ;  but 
there  lived  in  Chi-nan  fu  an  American  Presbyterian  mis- 
sionary, the  Rev.  Mr.  Mcllvaine,  who  had  removed  there 
from  Peking  about  a  year  before  my  visit.  He  was 
the  most  promising  of  young  missionaries,  and  had  been 
associated  with  the  seniors  of  his  mission  in  publishing 
the  Presbyterian  standards  in  Chinese.  He  was  then 
studying  Mohammedanism  with  a  view  to  writing  a  tract 
for  the  use  of  its  adherents.  It  is  now  forty  years 
since  he  prepared  this  tract,  and  I  regret  to  say  that 
to  this  day  nothing  of  importance  has  since  been 
published  in  Chinese  on  the  subject  by  any  missionary. 

Another  remarkable  man  in  Chi-nan  fu  was  Mr. 
Crossett,  who  was  a  great  favourite  with  the  Chinese 
and  very  devoted  in  his  work.  Yet  both  these  men 
got  into  a  most  dangerous  mental  condition  ;  the  main 
difficulty  was  a  rigidity  of  view  and  a  want  of  adaptation 
to  Chinese  conditions. 

This  latter  point  was  manifest  even  in  matters  of 
dress  in  Mr.  Mcllvaine's  case.  For  instance,  as  the 
Chinese  houses  and  inns  had  no  fires  in  them,  our  foreign 
dress  was  utterly  inadequate  for  warmth.  So  Mr. 
Mcllvaine  had  a  fur  dress  made  for  himself,  not  after 
the  Chinese  pattern — a  long  gown  with  a  short  jacket 
over  it — but  like  a  long  foreign  overcoat,  lined  with 
sheepskin,  with  a  kind  of  cape  covering  the  shoulders 
and  breast,   but  stitched  down  the  back. 

The  first  day  he  appeared  on  the  street  wearing  this 
new  garment  the  people  were  thrown  into  convulsions 
of  laughter.  "  What  a  stupid  wife  the  foreign  devil 
must  have  !  "  they  cried  out.  "  She  does  not  know 
how  to  make  a  coat.  You  look  at  him  from  the  front 
and  side  and  he  has  a  jacket  on  ;  but  when  he  is  past 
and  you  look  at  him  from  behind  he  wears  no  jacket. 
Did  you  ever  see  such  absurd  figures  as  these 
devils?  " 


STUDYING   LANGUAGE  59 

When  I  told  Mcllvaine  that  I  could  not  stand  this 
constant  ridicule  and  cursing  every  day,  his  reply,  how- 
ever unpractical,  was  beautiful.  "  We  must  live  it 
down,"  he  said.  But  it  soon  proved  more  than  even  his 
human  nature  could  stand.  One  evening  he  came  to 
my  inn  (for  in  those  days  none  dared  rent  houses  to 
foreigners) .      He  was  greatly  depressed,  and  said  ; — 

"  Richard,   I   want  you  to  do  me  a  favour." 

"  Willingly.      What  is  it  ?  " 

"  I  have  come  to  the  conclusion  that  1  have  made 
a  great  mistake  in  thinking  God  has  called  me  to  be 
a  missionary.  If  He  had,  surely  He  would  have  per- 
mitted me  converts  before  now.  But  I  have  none. 
Therefore  I  am  determined  to  leave  the  Mission  and 
let  the  Board  give  the  money  for  the  support  of  one 
who  has  been  truly  called  of  God.  I  will  go  to  one 
of  the  ports  and  do  what  I  can  to  prepare  school- 
books  in  Chinese  and  thus  earn  a  living.  I  have  a 
clock  which  my  mother  gave  me.  I  cannot  part  with 
that.  I  want  you  to  keep  it  for  me  till  I  am  settled 
in  my  new  work." 

"  Of  course  I  will  take  charge  of  your  clock," 
I  answered.  "  But  do  you  not  think  you  have  made 
your  resolution   too   hurriedly?" 

We  had  a  long  talk  over  the  matter.  At  parting  I 
said  to  him,  "  Pray  over  it  again,  and  let  us  have 
another   talk   before    you    finally   decide." 

Some  days  after  he  came  to  see  me  again,  and  at 
once  said  : — 

"  I  have  come  to  the  conclusion  that,  whatever 
our  theories  about  life  and  religion  and  Missions  may 
be,  there  is  one  course  that  appears  to  me  absolutely 
sound,  the  value  of  which  will  never  change,  and  that 
is  to  do  good." 

1  got  up  and  shook  hands  with  him,  saying:  "  That  is  a 
rock.    Stand  on  that  and  your  trouble  will  soon  be  over." 

From  that  day  he  was  a  happier  man  and  a  most 
efficient  worker.  He  died  in  1878,  his  health  having 
been  impaired  by  his  mental  troubles. 


60  FORTY-FIVE   YEARS   IN  CHINA 

21.  Crossett,  his  Colleague. 

Mr.  Crossett  was  a  different  type  of  man,  but  equally 
devoted  to  what  he  considered  to  be  his  duty.  After 
a  time  he  became  heart-broken  at  the  small  results  of 
his  years  of  labour,  and  came  to  the  conclusion  that  he 
did  not  pray  enough.  He  then  prayed  and  prayed  for 
hours  at  a  time  in  agony  of  spirit.  After  a  while  a 
complete  mental  breakdown  resulted,  and  he  was  sent 
to  Peking,  and  later  home  to  the  United  States. 

During  his  stay  there  he  visited  and  studied,  in  search 
of  light,  every  kind  of  erratic  religious  sect  to  be  found 
in  America.  But  his  longing  to  work  in  China  was  as 
strong  as  ever.  As  the  Board  was  not  prepared  to 
send  him  out  then,  he  went  to  the  coast  and  worked 
his  passage  as  a  common  sailor  on  a  vessel  to  the  Holy 
Land.  On  his  way  from  Joppa  to  Jerusalem,  w!hom 
should  he  meet  but  the  Roman  Catholic  Bishop  of 
Chi -nan  fu.  Crossett  literally  fell  on  his  neck  and  wept 
for  joy,  and  his  longing  for  China  was  all  the  more 
intensified  by  the  meeting.  He  visited  strange  religious 
communities  in  the  Holy  Land,  then  went  to  Egypt, 
where  he  engaged  himself  on  a  ship  for  Bombay.  At 
this  port  he  visited  that  saintly  man  Bowen,  whom  the 
Hindus  almost  worshipped,  and,  after  imbibing  his  special 
teaching,  sailed  once  more  before  the  mast  for  China. 

During  his  period  of  absence  from  China  he  read 
many  of  the  strange  writers  on  Christianity  amongst 
the  early  Fathers,  the  mediaeval  writers,  down  to  the 
mystics  of  the  present  day.  He  had  come  to  believe 
in  various  curious  doctrines — for  instance,  that  the  pores 
of  the  skin  were  open  doors  through  which  innumerable 
evil   spirits   passed   in   and   out  of   the   body. 

On  arriving  in  Chefoo  he  called  on  his  old  missionary 
friends.  They  were  greatly  shocked  to  see  him  in 
ragged  clothes,  and  offered  him  money  to  procure  new 
ones.  But  he  refused  to  take  any.  They  surreptitiously 
slipped  some  pieces  of  silver  into  his  wallet,  but  when 
he  found  them  he  gave  them  away  to  the  first  beggar 
he  met.     He  walked  all  the  way  to  Chi -nan  fu,  healingi 


STUDYING  LANGUAGE  61 

the  sick.  When  the  few  native  Christians  in  Chi-nan  fu 
saw  him,  they  were  also  greatly  shocked  at  his  appear- 
ance ;  but  his  return  so  delighted  them  that  they 
declared  they   would   share  their  last   morsel  with   him. 

After  a  time  he  was  again  sent  to  Peking.  Here 
he  devoted  himself  to  the  beggars  of  the  city,  and 
neither  Francis  of  Assisi  nor  any  ascetic  was  ever  more 
devoted  to  the  poor.  During  one  of  my  visits  to  Peking 
we  were  both  staying  in  Dr.  Dudgeon's  house  in  the 
London  Mission,  the  doctor  being  away.  I  slept  in  a 
foreign  bedroom,  while  Crossett  slept  with  the  patients 
in  the  hospital.  Every  morning  at  dawn  of  day  he 
used  to  come  to  my  room,  lie  down  on  the  floor,  and  we 
would  discuss  the  religious  beliefs  of  early  and  mediaeval 
days,  with  which  he  was  saturated.  Later  in  1889, 
when  we  were  living  in  Peking,  we  often  invited  him 
to  a  meal  with  us  ;  but  he  usually  came  with  a  Chinese 
cake  up  his  sleeve,  and  partook  of  that  simple  fare  in 
preference  to  our  food.  When  we  asked  him  to  spend 
the  night  with  us,  sometimes  he  accepted  the  invitation  ; 
but  he  would  never  sleep  in  a  bed  ;  he  used  to  lie  on 
the  floor  in  front  of  the  fire  and  spend  the  night  there. 

He  had  kept  a  careful  diary  of  all  his  thoughts  and 
experiences  since  he  first  left  Chi-nan  fu.  Extracts  from 
it  were  occasionally  published  in  the  Peking  newspapers 
by  Mr.  Michie,  who  had  a  great  admiration  of  his  devo- 
tion. Once  Crossett  gave  me  the  diary,  asking  me  to 
edit  it  for  publication.  Finding  he  was  gradually  recover- 
ing from  his  strange  vagaries,  I  glave  it  back  to  him, 
telling  him  to  wait  some  time  before  publishing  it. 

A  year  or  two  later  he  went  to  Shanghai,  walking 
all  the  way  from  Peking  to  Hankow,  and  thence  by  boat. 
He  stayed  with  Dr.  Fryer  at  the  Arsenal,  where  the 
servants  all  became  extraordinarily  devoted  to  him.  Mrs. 
Fryer  told  me  that  one  morning  he  came  to  breakfast 
with  his  face  full  of  joy. 

"  I  have  now  triumphed  over  my  last  enemy,"  he 
announced. 

"And  what  is  that?"  she  asked. 

"  My  diary  was  my  pride.      I  have  just  burnt  it." 


62  FORTY-FIVE   YEARS   IN   CHINA 

This   was  a  tragedy  indeed  ! 

The  same  summer  his  strength  began  to  fail.  He 
thought  that  if  he  could  get  to  Mongolia,  he  would 
regain  his  health.  So  he  started  for  Tientsin  in  the 
Eldorado.  Captain  Payne,  a  very  good  man,  gave  up 
his  cabin  to  the  sick  man.  But  on  the  arrival  of  the 
boat  at  Tientsin  he  was  dead.  1  happened  to  be  away 
at  the  time,  but  my  wife,  hearing  what  had  happened, 
went  straight  to  the  steamer  and  arranged  for  his 
btirial.  Later  I  had  a  simple  stone  put  up  to  mark  where 
his   mortal   remains    were   laid. 

These  tragedies  of  Mcllvaine  and  Crossett,  and  some 
Roman  Catholic  priests  whom  I  knew,  were  largely  due 
to  false  theology,  mistaken  application  of  Christianity, 
and  an  imperfect  knowledge  of  the  conditions  of  success 
in  missionary  effort. 

22.    Chinese   Philanthropist   Introducing 
Vaccination. 

In  1874,  on  the  way  back  to  Chefoo  from  Chi  -nan  f u,  I 
stayed  a  day  in  Wei-hsien  with  my  friend  the  Rev. 
Mr.  Mclntyre,  of  the  United  Presbyterian  Mission  of 
Scotland.  Whilst  there  I  learned  two  very  important 
factors  in  connection  with  Mission  work  in  China,  one 
the  intense  hostility  of  the  officials,  the  other  that  even 
amongst  the  non-Christians  in  China,  as  elsewhere  in 
the  world,  some  of  the  most  devout  people  were  to  be 
found. 

Wei-hsien  was  one  of  the  great  commercial  centres 
of  Shantung  and  was  the  home  of  many  wealthy  people 
who  had  members  of  their  families  holding  official  rank 
in  different  parts  of  the  Empire.  Thus  the  city  was 
an    official    as    well    as    a    commercial    centre. 

When  Mr.  Mclntyre  rented  a  small  house  as  a  begin- 
ning to  his  mission  work,  the  whole  city  rose  up  like 
a  nest  of  hornets  in  opposition,  and  there  was  as  great 
an  uproar  about  this  little  matter  as  if  an  arch-rebel 
or  violent  robber  had  come  into  their  midst.  They 
threatened  all  sorts  of  violence  unless  the  foreigner 
cleared  out  of  their  midst  at  once.     Then  suddenly  there 


STUDYING  LANGUAGE  63 

called  on  Mr.  Mclntyre  one  of  the  gentry  of  the  place, 
a  veritable  Cornelius,  a  devout  man,  full  of  good  works, 
who  told  him  that  he  need  not  be  alarmed  at  the 
threatening  of  the  people,  as  they  were  ignorant  and 
knew  not  what  they  were  doing.  He  would  personally 
explain   to    them    their    great    mistake. 

This  gentleman,  some  years  previously,  had  heard  of 
the  arrival  of  a  foreigner  in  Peking  (Dr.  Lockhart,  of 
the  London  Mission)  who  knew  how  to  prevent  small- 
pox. At  that  time  it  was  so  terrible  a  scourge  that 
in  many  places  half  the  population  of  small  towns  and 
villages  perished.  He  was  so  rejoiced  to  hear  of  a 
preventive  of  smallpox  that  he  travelled  ten  days 
to  Peking  to  see  Dr.  Lockhart,  who  showed  him  how 
to  vaccinate.  He  then  engaged  two  women  to  bring  their 
inoculated  children  and  travel  with  him  to  Wei-hsicn. 
On  arrival  there,  he  began  to  vaccinate  his  friends  and 
neighbours  direct  from  the  children.  In  time  the  people 
learned  the  value  of  vaccination,  and  for  many  years, 
indeed,  up  to  the  time  when  Mclntyre  arrived  in  Wei- 
hsien,  this  Chinese  gentleman  had  continued  vaccinating 
people  daily  for  nothing.  In  return,  a  fine  tablet  was  put 
up  in  gratitude  to  him  over  his  door. 

■When  the  people  now  found  him  visiting  the  foreigner, 
they  became  very  angry,  saying  that  they  had  not  put 
up  a  tablet  to  him  in  order  that  he  might  be  friendly 
with  the  hated  and  dangerous  foreigner.  They  would 
therefore  pull  it  down.  He  replied  :  "I  did  not  inocu- 
late you  in  order  to  get  a  tablet  from  you.  You 
are  quite  welcome  to  take  it  down.  I  wish  to  tell 
you  that  you  are  mistaken  about  the  foreigners.  What- 
ever good  I  have  been  able  to  do  in  the  prevention  of 
simallpox  I  learnt  from  the  kindness  of  Dr.  Lockhart 
the  missionary.  And  I  know  that  this  missionary  also 
has  no  other  motive  than  to  do  good.  Therefore  I  must 
do  all  in   my  power   to   befriend   him." 

While  I  was  stopping  a  day  or  two  at  the  inn,  Mr. 
Mclntyre  asked  this  Chinese  friend  if  he  might  bring 
me  with  him  to  call.  He  said  he  would  be  glad  to 
see    any   of   his    friends,    so    I    went.       I    was   anxious  to 


64  FORTY-FIVE   YEARS   IN   CHINA 

know  what  impression  our  New  Testament  would  produce 
on  a  good  Chinaman  at  the  first  reading.  I  found 
that  he  had  read  it  through  three  times  and  I  asked 
him,   "What  impressed  you  most  when  you  read?" 

He  considered  a  few  seconds  before  replying  and  then 
said,  "  Perhaps  the  most  wonderful  thought  was  this — 
that  man  might  become  the  temple  of  the  Holy  Ghost." 

23.  Unique  Medical  Tour  with  Dr.  Brown. 

In  the  beginning  of  1874  I  returned  to  Chefoo,  after 
an  absence  of  nearly  five  months  in  Chi -nan  fu.  I  found 
that  Dr.  Brown  was  making  rapid  progress  with  the 
language,  and,  assisted  by  Pastor  Ch'ing,  was  translating 
an  important  medical  work,  and  was  training  four  natives 
as   medical  students  and  assistants. 

Not  long  after  my  return,  Mr.  Margary,  of  the  Consular 
Service,  came  to  dine  with  Dr.  Brown.  Mr.  Lilley,  of 
the  Bible  Society  of  Scotland,  was  also  there  that  evening 
and  made  our  sides  ache  with  laughing  at  his  funny  tales, 
all  told  with  a  most  solemn  face.  Margary  left  Hankow 
in  September  of  that  year  to  begin  his  ill-fated  expedition 
to  Burmah.  He  was  murdered  in  February  1875  at 
Manwyne,    by   treacherous    Chinese. 

In  the  early  part  of  the  year  Dr.  Brown  and  1  planned 
a  tour  of  the  counties  in  the  promontory  which  was 
situated  in  the  eastern  part  of  the  province,  staying  at 
each  country  town  and  chief  market  town,  he  to  heal  the 
sick  and  I  to  preach  in  the  waiting-room,  admitting 
the  patients  to  Dr.  Brown's  room  one  by  one.  To  ensure 
peace  and  order,  as  foreigners  were  a  great  curiosity 
in  those  days,  we  sent  in  our  cards  to  the  chief  magistrate 
on  arriving  at  the  county  town,  telling  him  what  we  in- 
tended to  do,  and  asking  him  to  appoint  two  of  his  police 
to  assist  in  keeping  order.  The  magistrates  were  in- 
variably very  civil,  readily  agreeing  to  our  request,  and 
not  infrequently  members  of  the  Yamen  came  as  patients. 

From  early  in  the  morning  Dr.  Brown  worked  very 
hard,  seeing  patients  without  intermission.  Fearing  that 
his  health  would  break  down  under  such  a  severe  strain, 
I  tried  to  persuade  him  not  to  work  so  many  hours,   but 


STUDYING  LANGUAGE  65 

he  would  not  listen.  The  cry  of  a  patient  was  to  him 
an  imperative  call.  Knowing  that  his  strength  was  not 
equal  to  such  a  tax  on  it,  I  tooic  him  one  evening  by 
main  force  in  my  arms  and  carried  him  off  to  his 
bedroom. 

Some  of  his  treatments  produced  instant  relief,  which 
appeared  no  less  than  miraculous  to  the  patients.  For 
instance,  a  man  came  in  one  day  suffering  from  intense 
pain  in  the  stomachy  being  doubled  up  in  agony. 
Dr.  Brown  gave  him  a  single  draught,  and  in  ten  minutes 
the  man  stood  up  straight,  opened  his  eyes,  and,  all 
amazed  at  his  sudden  recovery,  cried  out,  "  I  am 
cured  !  1  am  cured  !  The  pain  is  all  gone  !  "  His 
dramatic  declaration  made  the  other  patients  laugh  at 
first,  but  then,  realizing  he  was  truly  cured,  they  were 
all  most  anxious  to  get  medicine  to  ensure  their  own 
instant  relief. 

Another  morning,  a  leprous  man  entered,  full  of  joy, 
bringing  presents  to  testify  his  gratitude.  He  said  that 
for  years  his  hands  and  feet  had  been  numb,  without 
any  feeling,  but  that  after  taking  the  medicine  which 
Dr.  Brown  had  given  him  the  day  before,  both  hands 
and    feet   were   tingling    with   sensation. 

In  the  course  of  our  trip  we  chanced  to  stay  for  the 
night  at  an  inn  not  far  from  Sung  t'sun,  the  market 
town  where  I  had  spent  a  fortnight  the  previous  year 
before  attending  the  great  fair  at  Hui-Lung-San.  We 
were  travelling  in  what  is  called  a  shen-tze,  a  covered 
hammock  slung  between  two  mules,  one  in  front  and 
one  behind.  We  had  with  us  one  of  Dr.  Brown's  assist- 
ants who  helped  him  in  dispensing,  so  what  with 
men  and  mules,  our  cortege  practically  filled  the  little 
village  inn.  On  asking  the  innkeeper  next  morning 
for  our  bill,  he  refused  to  charge  us  anything,  saying, 
"  You  have  come  here,  giving  medicine  gratis  to  our 
people  ;  it  would  be  wrong  for  me  to  charge  you  for 
the  night's  lodging.     Besides,  do  you  not  remember  me  ?  " 

I  could  not  recall  him,  so  he  explained  that  he  had 
visited  me  a  few  times  the  previous  year  in  Sung  t'sun 
and   obtained   valuable   information   from   me  about   the 

5 


66  FORTY-FIVE   YEARS   IN  CHINA 

outside  world  and  about  religion,  for  which  he  had  been 
most  grateful.  I  pressed  him  again  for  his  bill,  thinking 
it  was  only  a  courteous  way  of  expressing  his  pleasure 
at  seeing  me  again,  but  he  positively  refused  to  charge 
us  anything,  saying  that  he  himself  would  like  to  have 
a  share  in  doing'  good  to  people. 

Thus  we  proceeded  on  our  tour  round  the  promontory, 
gaining  through  Dr.  Brown's  ministrations  the  good- 
will of  the  people  wherever  we  went. 

Alas  !  that,  at  the  time  when  our  Mission  was  striking 
out  in  a  new  line  of  work  with  such  success,  the  con- 
nection between  the  Society  and  my  colleagues  should 
have  been  severed,  owing  to  the  imperfection  of  human 
appreciation  and  foresight.  To  the  great  grief  of  all  our 
missionary  associates  of  every  denomination,  both  English 
and  American,  in  Chefoo,  Dr.  Brown  left  in  April  1874 
and  went  to  Dunedin,  New  Zealand,  where,  both  as 
professor  in  the  University  and  practitioner  in  the  city, 
he  became  most  eminent.  When  after  many  years  he 
retired,  the  Mayor,  in  the  name  of  the  town,  presented 
him  with  a  handsome  testimonial  in  recognition  of  his 
many  services  during  his  thirty  years  of  residence  there. 

Thus  I  was  left  once  more  alone  in  charge  of  the 
English   Baptist   Mission   work   in    China. 

24.  Demon  Possession. 

In  the  early  'seventies  no  steamers  ran  from  Shanghai 
to  Chefoo  during  the  winter,  Chefoo  harbour  being 
impassable  owing  to  the  ice.  As  business  was  at  a  stand- 
still, the  small  foreign  community  formed  clubs  and 
societies  whereby  they  might  spend  their  time  happily 
and  profitably  together. 

In  connection  with  a  literary  society  I  was  asked  one 
winter  to  read  a  paper  on  "  Demoniacal  Possession  in 
China."  The  subject  proved  very  attractive,  and  mis- 
sionaries and  merchants,  Jews  and  Gentiles,  Catholics 
and  Protestants,  believers  and  sceptics,  all  came  and  it 
was  the  largest  gathering  we  had  had.  Beginning  with 
the  cases  of  demon  possession  cured  by  our  Lord,  I  then 
referred  to  similar  cases  in  China,     Men  were  possessed 


STUDYING  LANGUAGE  67 

by  evil  spirits  to  such  a  degree  that  the  afflicted  ones 
would  personify  different  individuals.  One  day  the  un- 
fortunate victim  would  say  his  name  was  Li,  from  a 
locality  some  distance  off,  and  would  weave  a  history 
of  that  personality,  whereas  in  reality  his  name  might 
be  Chang.  When  in  his  right  mind  he  would  speak  of 
his  home  and  the  Chang  family  with  perfect  clearness 
and  in  a  natural  voice,  while  when  possessed  he  would 
talk  in  quite  a  different  voice,  speaking  of  himself  as  Li. 
At  other  times  houses  would  be  haunted  and  the  residents 
would  be  so  terrified  that  they  would  leave  their  homes, 
and  houses  were  known  to  be  left  untenanted  for  twenty 
years  or  more,  because  people  believed  they  were 
haunted  by  evil  spirits. 

The  philosophy  of  the  matter  seemed  to  be  that  men 
and  women  of  weak  will  were  like  reeds  shaken  by  every 
breeze  that  passed  ;  every  rumour  of  evil  spirits  and 
haunted  houses  took  possession  of  their  wills,  and  swayed 
them  hither  and  thither.  When  Christians  approached 
them,  and  told  of  an  Almighty  God,  to  whom  the  evil 
demons  were  subjected,  and  whose  Holy  Spirit  would 
come  and  dwell  in  the  hearts  of  all  who  were  willing 
to  obey  Him,  it  was  glad  tidings  of  great  joy  to  them. 
Their  wills  received  tonic  and  strength,  and  in  this  way 
were  able  to  resist  common  reports.  Thus  the  weak 
became  strong,  and  those  who  had  lost  their  reason 
became   restored  to  their  right   minds. 

The  discussion  which  followed  my  paper  proved 
intensely  interesting.  Dr.  Williamson  described  the  use 
of  the  planchette  in  China,  especially  in  the  temple  of 
Lu  Tsu,  to  obtain  prescriptions  for  the  sick.  The 
planchette  consisted  of  a  string  attached  to  a  bean^  and 
ending    in    a    pen    hanging    over   some    sand    in    a   tray. 

Dr.  Corbett  described  a  house  believed  for  years  to 
be  haunted,  so  that  nobody  would  rent  it.  At  last  his 
native  evangelist  lived  in  it,  and  the  supposed  ghost 
removed  to  the  next  house,  where  it  gave  no  peace  to 
the  occupants.  They  then  begged  him  to  go  over  and 
exorcise  it.  He  took  the  New  Testament  with  him, 
and  called  on  the  neighbours  to  join  him  in  prayer  that 


68  FORTY-FIVE   YEARS   IN   CHINA 

God  would  protect  them  from  all  harm,  and  peace  was 
restored  to  that  house  too.  Dr.  Corbett  was  followed 
by  a  Jew,  who  remarked  that  the  idea  of  demon 
possession  was  brought  to  Palestine  from  Persia.  A 
medical  man  next  rose  and  scouted  the  theory  of  demon 
possession  altogether,  saying  that  the  victims  were 
suffering  from  hysteria,  and  that  the  explanation  was 
physical.  After  him  spoke  Mr.  Fergusson,  the  head 
of  the  firm  of  Fergusson  &  Co.,  originally  a  Jesuit 
priest,  one  of  the  best  educated  men  present.  Though 
married,  he  entertained  all  the  Roman  Catholic  bishops 
as  they  passed  through  inland,  and  he  was  as  devout 
as  ever.  He  remarked  that  he  believed  in  the  theory 
of  demon  possession,  and  that  he  had  as  much  ground 
for  his  belief  as  the  medical  man  for  his  view.  He 
gave  a  number  of  striking  instances,  attested  by  various 
bishops,  how  even  ordinary  Christians  had  the  power 
to  restore  afflicted  men  to  their  right  mind. 

My  paper  of  that  evening  was  published  in  the 
Celestial  Empire,  ?and  Mr.  Christopher  Gardner,  the 
British  Consul,  quoted  largely  from  it  in  an  interesting 
article  to  one  of  the  home  papers  on  "  The  Bogey  in 
China."  After  this  memorable  evening.  Dr.  Nevius 
began  to  collect  evidences  of  demon  possession  and 
demon  exorcism  from  all  parts  of  China,  and  gathered 
them  into  an  exhaustive  work,  "  Demon  Possession," 
which   was   published  after   his   death. 

25.  Black  and  White  Sheep. 

A  Chinese  proverb  says,  "  If  you  sow  beans,  you 
gather  beans  ;  if  you  plant  sweet  potatoes,  you  reap 
sweet  potatoes."  But  the  wonderful  thing  in  human 
character  is  that  the  same  treatment  meted  out  to  two 
individuals  so  often  ends  in  different  results. 

There  was  in  Tengchow,  near  Chefoo,  a  Mrs.  Holmes, 
widow  of  an  American  Baptist  missionary  who  had  been 
murdered  by  the  Taiping  rebels  in  the  'sixties.  She 
had  a  little  son  whom  she  herself  taught.  In  the 
goodness  of  her  heart,  she  thought  that  if  she  brought 
up  with  him  two  poor  Chinese  boys  of  about  the  same 


STUDYING  LANGUAGE  69 

age  as  her  son,  and  gave  them  the  same  teaching,  she 
would  be  doing  good  missionary  work.  The  Chinese 
boys'  names  were  Sei-kse  and  Joe.  They  learnt  English 
very  well.  At  that  time  English-speaking  clerks  were 
in  great  demand  by  foreign  shopkeepers,  as  they  could 
be  paid  twenty  dollars  a  month,  while  a  foreign  assistant 
would  demand  at  least  four  times  that  sum. 

Joe,  the  younger  of  the  two  boys,  when  about 
sixteen,  was,  unknown  to  Mrs.  Holmes,  offered  a  situa- 
tion in  the  Russian  store  in  Chefoo  with  a  salary  of 
twenty  dollars  a  month.  This  seemed  a  fortune  to  his 
poor  parents,  who  had  regarded  five  dollars  a  month  as 
the  average  wage  to  those  in  their  station.  They  urged 
their  son  to  accept  the  offer,  so  one  day  he  ran 
away. 

Mrs.  Holmes  was  greatly  distressed  at  this,  and,  to 
prevent  the  other  boy  leaving  her,  she  decided  to  send 
him  to  a  school  in  America,  where  her  son  was  finishing 
his  education.  After  a  few  years  in  the  United  States, 
Sei-kse  returned  to  China,  and  obtained  a  good  situation 
in  the  Customs  under  Sir  Robert  Hart.  When  he  was 
passing  through  Chefoo,  Mrs.  Holmes  asked  me  to 
receive  him  as  my  guest.  I  found  him  unusually  bright. 
But,  alas  !  within  three  months  of  his  entrance  into  the 
Customs,  he  decided  he  could  easily  better  his  position 
if  he  were  to  head  a  rebellion  and  make  himself 
Emperor.  His  position  in  the  Customs  enabled  him 
surreptitiously  to  pass  a  quantity  of  foreign  arms  and 
ammunition  into  Chinkiang.  But  the  conspiracy  leaked 
out,  and  his  head  was  demanded  by  the  Government. 
A  missionary  friend  of  Mrs.  Holmes  helped  him  to  get 
away  to  the  United  States.  After  arrival  in  America, 
forgetting  that  all  the  advantages  he  had  received, 
including  the  saving  of  his  life,  had  been  through  the 
kindness  of  missionaries,  he  travelled  about  the  United 
States  lecturing  on  China,  and  trying  to  prove  the 
superiority   of    Confucianism    to    Christianity. 

Joe,  on  the  other  hand,  was  offered  a  position  in 
Tientsin,  under  Jardine  and  Matheson,  to  provide  and 
superintend    coolies    for    the    loading   and    unloading    of 


70  FORTY-FIVE  YEARS  IN  CHINA 

their  ships.  He  was  most  resourceful  in  difficulties, 
and  was  often  consulted  by  other  companies. 

About  twenty  years  passed,  and  Mrs.  Holmes  fell  on 
evil  times.  Her  son,  who  had  become  a  medical  man, 
had  turned  out  badly.  Mrs.  Holmes  was  poor,  and  her 
health  not  good.  For  her  livelihood  she  had  to  teach 
in  a  school,  to  which  daily  she  had  to  walk  a  long 
distance.  In  her  distress  she  wrote  to  Joe  of  her  troubles. 
He  at  once  went  to  Jardine  and  Matheson's  agent  in 
Tientsin  and  told  him  of  Mrs.  Holmes's  sad  letter.  "  You 
have  put  by  to  my  credit  a  sum  of  a  thousand  dollars," 
he  added.  "  Please  draw  it  out  for  me,  as  I  wish  to 
send  it  to  Mrs.  Holmes."  The  agent  promised  to  do 
so.  About  a  week  later,  not  having  received  the  money, 
Joe  went  again  to  the  agent  to  remind  him  of  his  promise. 
The  agent  said  he  had  not  forgotten,  but  he  had  feared 
Joe  had  not  realized  the  many  years  it  had  taken  him 
to  save  the  money,  and  he  had  delayed  in  order  that 
Joe  might  consider  the  matter  carefully.  Joe  replied 
that  he  had  fully  made  up  his  mind.  "  Mrs.  Holmes  did 
far  more  for  me  than  my  own  mother.  If  it  were  not 
for  her,  I  might  have  been  like  one  of  the  coolies  under 
my  charge,  getting  a  few  hundred  cash  a  day.  Let  me 
have  the  money  without  delay,  for  I  cannot  think  lof 
Mrs.  Holmes  suffering  from  want  while  I  have  enough 
and  to  spare."  On  hearing  the  story,  a  clerk  in  the 
bank  remarked  :  "It  does  one  good  to  hear  such  fine 
results.    I  will  give  him  the  best  exchange  I  possibly  can." 

In  1891,  when  I  was  leaving  Tientsin  for  Shanghai, 
Joe  undertook  to  remove  my  goods  and  furniture  to 
the  steamer.  An  army  of  coolies  came  in  at  the  front 
door,  swept  through  the  house,  each  man  seizing  some- 
thing and  going  out  at  the  back,  leaving  "  not  a  wrack 
behind."  When  we  boarded  the  boat,  not  a  single 
article  was  missing.  Joe  refused  to  take  any  payment 
for    the    work. 

26.  Second  Visit  to  Chi-nan  fu. 

I  was  anxious  to  get  to  Chi-nan  fu,  the  provincial 
capital,  at  the  earliest  opportunity.    Now,  the  rainy  season 


STUDYING  LANGUAGE  71 

in  Shantung  occurs  in  the  months  of  July  and  August. 
The  rain  is  so  heavy,  and  the  country  in  many  parts 
so  flat,  that  communication  is  impossible,  the  roads  being 
nothing  but  mud.  All  business  is  at  a  standstill  till 
the  rains  are  over. 

It  was  therefore  not  till  September  that  I  could  make 
the  trip.  I  engaged  one  of  the  usual  carts,  drawn  by 
two  mules.  I  put  a  box  of  books  and  some  Chinese 
clothing  at  the  back  of  the  cart,  while  at  the  bottom 
I  spread  the  thick  bedding  which  every  traveller  in 
China  has  to  take  with  him  everywhere,  as  none  is 
provided  in  the  inns.  The  cost  of  a  cart  at  that  time 
was  about  three  shillings  a  day.  Ten  or  twelve  other 
carts  started  with  us,  for  as  the  roads  were  not  dry, 
there  would  be  many  pitfalls,  and  it  would  need  the 
help  of  all  the  men  to  get  the  carts  out  of  the  mud. 
One  day  we  were  upset  out  of  the  cart  no  less  than  three 
times.  When  the  road  seemed  to  be  deep  with  water 
and  mud  it  was  a  great  temptation  to  the  carters  to 
leave  the  main  road,  and  as  there  are  no  hedges, 
to  drive  over  the  fields,  which  were  usually  on  a  higher 
level,  and  therefore  dry.  When  crops  were  growing, 
the  farmers  would  naturally,  come  out  and  object  to  the 
invasion. 

On  one  occasion  we  had  serious  trouble.  The  owners 
of  the  crops  insisted  that  the  carters  should  return  to 
the  road,  while  the  drivers  protested  that  they  had  not 
intended  deliberately  to  trespass,  but  that  the  road  was 
absolutely  impassable.  High  words  passed  between  the 
parties.  People  from  the  village  came  to  the  help  of 
the  farmers,  bringing  bamboo  poles  and  other  weapons 
to  fight  the  intruders  if  necessary.  The  carters,  seeing 
the  villagers  opposing  them,  became  furious,  flung  off, 
their  coats  and  prepared  for  battle.  Some  blows  were 
exchanged.  On  seeing  this,  and  fearing  grave  conse- 
quences, I  went  up  to  two  of  the  seniors  of  the  village, 
and  pointed  out  that  unless  they  restrained  their  party, 
serious  results  would  follow.  "  You  see  it  is  a  sheer  impos- 
sibility for  us  to  go  by  the  road.  The  wheel  of  one 
of   the    carts   is   already   broken.      Would   you  have   all 


72  FORTY-FIVE   YEARS  IN  CHINA 

our  carts  break  their  wheels  ?  It  will  go  hard  with  your 
village  if  others  hear  of  it.  Allow  the  carts  to  go  on 
the  dry  land,  and  I,  for  my  part,  will  take  the  load  of 
the    broken    cart    into    mine." 

The  elders  listened  to  reason,  and  called  on  the 
villagers  to  desist  and  let  us  pass.  When  we  reached 
the  next  inn  the  carters  were  so  grateful  that  they  wished 
to  pay  my  expenses  for  having  got  them  out  of  their 
difficulties. 

In  Chi -nan  fu  I  found  Mr.  Mcllvaine  in  a  great  state 
of  depression,  almost  in  despair.  I  had  not  been  long 
there  before  Dr.  and  Mrs.  Williamson  of  the  U.P. 
Mission,  Chefoo,  came  through  with  a  native,  Mr.  Li, 
who  had  been  assistant  to  Dr.  Henderson,  the  medical 
missionary  in  Chefoo,  for  some  years.  Besides  distri- 
buting literature,  Mr.  Li  gave  away  simple  medicines, 
such  as  quinine  and  chlorodyne,  to  sufferers  in  need  of 
them.  On  reaching  Chi -nan  fu,  Mr.  Li  had  high  fever. 
After  some  ten  days.  Dr.  and  Mrs.  Williamson  went  to 
Tai  An,  leaving  him  in  my  charge,  expecting  he  would 
recover  after  a  few  days'  rest.  But  the  fever  proved 
to  be  a  case  of  malignant  typhus.  There  was  not  a 
single  foreigner  in  the  city,  so  Mr.  Li  stayed  in  the 
same  inn  with  me.  Day  by  day  his  fever  grew  worse. 
I  fed  him  with  chicken  soup^  thinking  it  was  the  easiest 
diet  to  digest.  After  fifteen  days  his  temperature  rose 
exceedingly  high.  Having  made  up  my  mind  to  feed 
him  with  a  few  spoonfuls  every  hour,  both  day  and  night, 
I  got  into  the  habit  of  waking  up  at  the  end  of  every 
hour  of  the  night  just  as  regularly  as  if  I  had  had  an 
alarm  clock  in  my  brain. 

About  the  twentieth  day  haemorrhage  began  in  such 
abundance  that  I  began  to  fear  for  his  recovery,  as  I 
could  not  believe  a  man  could  lose  so  much  blood  and 
yet  survive.  However,  the  next  day,  to  my  intense 
delight,  he  asked  if  he  might  have  a  little  millet  gruel. 
This  he  drank  greedily,  and  asked  for  more.  He 
improved  rapidly  after  this  in  health,  but  not  in  temper. 
Nothing  I  did  would  please  him,  though  I  nursed  him 
as    if    he    were    my    own    brother.      Finally    he    became 


STUDYING  LANGUAGE  73 

homesick,  and  insisted  on  going  back  to  Chefoo,  even 
before  he  had  fully  recovered  his  strength.  I  engaged 
chair-bearers  to  carry  him,  sent  my  servant  along  with 
him  to  take  care  of  him,  and  walked  the  first  three  miles 
with  him.  When  I  returned  to  my  inn,  I  had  a  severe 
headache,  and  later  discovered  I  was  down  with  fever 
caught  from  my  patient.  As  I  was  quite  alone,  I  sent 
word  to  Mr.  Mcllvaine,  who  then  lived  two  days'  journey 
off,  and  he  soon  came  to  the  city  and  nursed  me  back 
to  health.  This  seizure  rendered  me  immune  from  further 
attacks,  when  millions  round  me  were  suffering  from 
famine    typhus. 

27.  Roads  and  Modes  of  Travel  in  North  China. 

The  roads  in  China  are  most  extraordinary.  The 
plains  of  Shantung,  Chihli,  and  Honan  are  composed  of 
yellow  soil  brought  down  by  the  Yellow  River  ;  in 
Shansi  there  are  strange  formations  of  loess  in  which 
the  country  people  dig  cave  dwellings,  delightfully  cool 
in  summer  and  warm  in  winter.  As  the  climate  is  very 
dry  in  these  provinces,  sometimes  without  a  drop  of 
rain  for  six  months,  the  carts  travel  with  ease  along 
the  dusty  roads,  for  not  a  stone  is  to  be  seen  for  a 
hundred  miles.  But  when  the  rainy  season  comes  in 
June,  July,  and  August  the  roads  are  drowned  with 
water,  which  when  mixed  with  the  dust  forms  impass- 
able sloughs  of  mud.  All  traffic  ceases  along  these 
highways,  and  for  three  months  there  used  to  be  a 
stoppage  of  trade,  all  capital  being  locked  up  during 
this  time  without  any  interest,  involving  enormous  loss 
to  China  as  a  whole. 

A  similar  stoppage  of  trade  arose  from  the  narrow- 
ness of  the  streets  in  larger  cities.  In  Tientsin  the 
streets  were  not  wide  enough  to  allow  two  carts  to 
pass  each  other.  This  always  involved  great  wrangling 
between  the  carters  as  to  which  should  back  his  cart 
to  the  end  of  the  street.  Sometimes  other  carts  came 
behind  the  first  one,  and  there  would  be  a  block  of 
some  dozen  or  more  carts,  involving  a  delay  of  hours. 
The  time  wasted  involved  so  much  loss  to  the  merchants 


74  FORTY-FIVE  YEARS  IN  CHINA 

that  it  would  have  paid  them  to  buy  up  a  portion  of 
the  city  and  lay  it  out  with  wide  streets.  What  sober 
officials  and  business  men  did  not  attempt,  the  Boxers 
did  in  one  day.  They  burned  the  city  down.  In  re- 
building the  authorities  laid  out  streets  wide  enough 
for  carts  and  tramcars  to  pass,  to  the  great  gain  of  all. 

In  those  days  in  North  China  officials  used  to  travel 
in  sedan-chairs,  carried  according  to  rank  by  four  or 
eight  bearers,  at  the  rate  of  about  twenty  miles  a  day. 
Another  mode  of  travel  was  the  lighter  shen-tze,  an 
erection  covered  with  matting  and  slung  between  two 
mules,  one  in  front  and  one  behind.  Merchants  as  a 
rule  travelled  in  a  small  covered  cart  at  the  rate  of 
about  thirty  miles  a  day.  They  started  on  the  day's 
journey  about  an  hour  before  dawn,  and  travelled  till 
about  ten,  when  the  carters  stopped  to  feed  the  mules 
and  have  a  midday  meal.  About  noon  they  started 
again,  and  travelled  till  a  little  before  dark,  when  they 
put  up  at  an  inn  lest  they  should  be  attacked  by  robbers. 
There  were,  and  are,  regular  inns  on  the  great  highways. 

At  the  best  inns  all  kinds  of  food  can  be  procured, 
and  excellently  cooked  chicken,  fish,  pork,  and  eggs, 
prepared  in  many  different  ways.  The  dish  of  fried  pork 
and  cabbage  is  as  common  as  ham  and  eggs  in 
England.  The  available  vegetables  comprise  potatoes, 
sweet  potatoes,  yams,  cabbages,  turnips,  carrots,  egg- 
plants, beans,  peas,  plums,  cucumber,  while  fruit  of 
various  kinds — cherries,  pears,  plums,  peaches,  apples, 
apricots,  persimmons,  melons,  grapes — can  be  obtained 
at  different  seasons  of  the  year,  with  nuts  of  different 
kinds — peanuts,  chestnuts,  water -chestnuts,  and  lotus - 
seeds.  Alcohol  made  of  the  tall  millet,  a  sherry -like 
yellow  wine,  rice  wine,  and  wine  made  from  small  millet 
can  be  served,  and  is  always  drunk  hot.  The  rule 
is  to  take  the  table  d'hote  fare  provided  for  all  alike. 
The  muleteers  have  the  same  food  as  their  masters,  but 
sit  at  a  different  table.  The  noon  meal  usually  costs 
two  hundred  cash,  the  evening  meal  about  three  hundred 
cash,  which  includes  the  night's  lodging',  and  ten  per 
cent,    is    paid   in    tips    to    the    waiters.      Altogether   the 


STUDYING  LANGUAGE  75 

noonday  meal  costs  about  sixpence  and  the  evening  meal 
about  ninepence. 

Besides  the  above  quick  mode  of  travelUng  in  North 
China  there  is  the  much  slower  but  commoner  one  of 
the  barrow.  This  vehicle  is  peculiar  to  China,  and 
unlike  any  in  Europe  or  America.  In  the  centre  is  a  stout 
wheel,  about  three  feet  high,  as  strong  as  a  cartwheel. 
On  it  is  fixed  a  framework,  carrying  a  seat  on  each  side 
of  the  wheel.  The  traveller  sits  on  one  side,  while  his 
goods  balance  him  on  the  other.  The  barrow  is  pushed 
from  behind  by  a  coolie,  and  pulled  in  front  by  another 
coolie  or  by  a  mule  or  donkey.  The  load  which  these 
barrows  carry  is  enormous,  sometimes  half  a  ton, 
involving  an  enormous  strain  on  the  man  pushing  it. 
The  converging  shafts  are  so  arranged  that  the  greatest 
strain  is  thrown  on  the  wheel.  These  barrows  travel 
at  the  rate  of  about  twenty  miles  a  day.  The  inns  at 
which  they  stay  are  much  inferior  in  accommodation  to 
those  frequented  by  carters  and  muleteers.  The  k'ang 
is  often  only  a  foot  high  from  the  ground,  and  there- 
fore damp,  while  the  food  is  coarse,  consisting  of  millet 
and  maize,  with  salted  vegetables,  but  no  meat.  In 
summer  the  barrow  is  covered  with  a  blue  awning,  and 
one  can  read  or  lie  down  and  sleep  while  the  mule 
pulls  the  barrow  along  at  a  good  pace.  In  Shantung 
it  is  a  common  sight  to  see  sails  fitted  to  the  barrows 
when  there  is  a  good  breeze.  The  sails  of  a  dozen  of 
these  heavy-laden  barrows  travelling  along  a  deep-cut  road 
have  the  appearance  of  a  fleet  of  boats  scudding  along 
before  the  wind  down  some  unseen  creek  in  the  country. 

I  once  travelled  with  these  slow  barrowmen  near  the 
coast  of  Shantung,  where  the  ground  was  white  with 
deposits  of  soda  exuding  everywhere.  I  was  warned 
of  the  difficulty  of  getting  fresh  water,  as  every  well 
was  saturated  with  soda.  When  we  attempted  to  make 
tea,  the  soda  in  the  water  made  the  infusion  very  strong 
and  bitter.  Happily,  1  found  a  good  remedy.  I  pro- 
vided myself  with  a  bagful  of  cucumbers,  and  when 
I  suffered  from  thirst  after  the  bitter  tea  the  cucumbers 
tasted  as  sweet  as  apples. 


CHAPTER    III 
SETTLING    IN    CHTNG-CHOW    FU 

I.  First  Connection  with  Li  Hung-chang. 

Li  Hung-chang  was  a  native  of  Anhui  province,  and 
had  been  one  of  the  chief  generals  under  Tseng  Kwoh 
Fan  in  crushing  the  Taiping  rebellion.  It  was  to  assist 
Li,  when  he  was  Governor  of  Soochow,  that  General 
Gordon    was    lent    by    the    British    Government. 

My  first  connection  with  Li  Hung-chang  was  in  1875, 
when  he  was  at  Chefoo  signing  the  Chefoo  Convention. 
I  was  then  in  charge  of  our  Mission  hospital,  with 
a  native  assistant.  Finding  that  a  large  number  of 
Li  Hung -Chang's  soldiers  were  coming  to  the  hospital 
suffering  from  ague  and  dysentery,  I  sent  a  present  of 
quinine  and  chlorodyne  to  the  General  for  distribution 
amongst  his  retinue  and  escort.  For  this  he  sent  me  a 
letter   of   thanks. 

2.  Journey  to  Ch'ing-chow  fu. 

After  my  return  to  Chefoo,  I  pondered  much  over 
the  question  of  where  to  settle  in  the  interior.  On 
inquiry  I  found  that  at  a  place  in  the  neighbourhood 
of  Ch'ing-chow  fu,  two  hundred  miles  away,  about  eight 
days'  journey  from  Chefoo,  there  were  several  native 
sects,  with  a  large  number  of  followers  seeking  after 
higher  truth  than  was  to  be  found  in  the  three  great 
religions  of  China.  I  came  to  the  conclusion  that  this 
was  a  place  prepared  to  receive  my  message,  so  I 
decided  in  January  1875  to  go  to  Ch'ing-chow  fu. 
There  was  a  young  lad  of  about  fourteen  years  of  age 
in  Chefoo,  son  of  a  sea  captain,  who  could  not  continue 

76 


SETTLING   IN   CH'ING-CHOW   FU  77 

his  lessons  there,  as  there  was  no  school  at  that  time. 
It  was  decided  that  he  should  travel  with  me  and  that 
I  should   superintend   his  studies  every  evening. 

On  the  journey  we  encountered  considerable  difficulties 
through  the  inclemency  of  the  weather.  It  was  winter- 
time and  there  was  heavy  snow  on  the  ground.  There 
were  only  three  carts  going  together.  The  first  day 
we  made  only  ten  miles.  After  toiling  all  the  second 
day  it  was  midnight  before  we  reached  our  inn,  having 
made  only  five  miles.  It  was  a  hilly  part  of  the 
country,  and  the  wind  had  blown  the  snow  off  the  high 
places,  so  that  the  roads  were  covered  with  snowdrifts 
and  it  was  impossible  to  tell  how  deep  they  were.  The 
fields  lay  in  terraces  up  the  sides  of  the  hills,  rising 
in  ledges  of  two,  three,  or  four  feet  high.  Forced  to 
leave  the  roads  because  of  the  snowdrifts,  we  had  to 
drive  over  the  fields,  and  in  some  instances  had  to  dig 
away  some  hedges  in  order  to  get  over  them.  This 
lengthened  our  journey  considerably. 

One  night  the  carters  lost  their  way  and  engaged 
a  guide.  He  led  us  over  some  fields  sown  with  wheat. 
The  villagers  came  out,  protesting.  The  carters,  being 
tired  out  with  the  long  day,  answered  roughly,  and  high 
words  passed  between  the  parties.  People  from  the 
village  ran  to  the  help  of  the  farmers,  and  it  seemed 
as  if  we  were  to  have  a  repetition  of  the  trouble  we 
had  experienced  the  previous  autumn  after  the  rains. 
Again  I  had  to  intervene  with  the  elders  of  the  village, 
and  after  hearing  me,  they  turned  on  the  guide,  whom 
they  knew,  and  abused  him  roundly  for  leading  us  over 
the  fields.  Finally  they  turned  to  me  and  said  :  "  We 
will  let  you  pass  this  time,  as  you  are  a  stranger.  We 
have  ordered  the  guide  to  take  you  to  the  nearest  inn, 
but  as  a  punishment  for  his  misdeeds,  you  are  not  to 
pay   him   anything." 

When  we  were  within  two  days  of  Ch'ing-chow  fu 
we  were  beset  by  a  terrible  blizzard.  The  wind  was 
high,  and  the  snow,  though  not  deep,  was  driven  before 
it  in  such  a  density  of  minute  particles  that  everything 
was   obliterated.      We   could    see   neither   the   tracks   on 


78  FORTY-FIVE   YEARS  IN  CHINA 

the  road  nor  the  sun,  and  as  the  sun  is  the  compass 
on  the  plains  of  China  as  on  the  ocean,  we  could  not 
find  our  bearings.  In  some  places  there  were  deep 
snowdrifts,  preventing  us  from  following  the  road  where 
it  was  visible.  When  we  came  to  such  spots,  we  were 
forced  to  leave  the  main  roads  and  go  into  the  fields, 
where  we  wandered  and  wandered  in  search  of  the  main 
road,  not  knowing  the  direction  we  had  to  go.  How- 
ever, after  about  five  hours'  travel  in  the  blinding 
blizzard  and  the  bitter  cold,  to  our  intense  relief  we 
finally  reached  an  inn.  The  innkeeper  feared  that  other 
travellers  had  failed  in  finding  their  way.  And  so  it 
proved.  The  following  morning  it  was  found  that  two 
carts  had  lost  their  way,  and  some  of  the  men  had 
been    frozen    to    death. 

Ch'ing-chow  fu  is  a  prefectural  city  with  eleven 
counties  under  it.  At  one  time,  in  a  former  dynasty, 
it  was  the  capital  city  of  one  of  the  princes. 
In  those  days  it  occupied  a  very  large  area.  Even  now 
it  covers  an  area  twice  as  large  as  the  average  city, 
and  the   city  wall   is  one  of  the  finest   in  Shantung. 

Having  arrived  at  Ch'ing-chow  fu,  we  stayed  at  an 
inn,  making  no  effort  to  rent  a  place.  I  studied 
Chinese  general  literature  and  religions,  while  the  boy 
went  on  with  his  lessons.  We  were  a  great  curiosity 
to  the  people.  We  used  to  go  out  for  a  short  walk 
every  afternoon,  and  as  we  were  dressed  in  European 
costume  the  whole  city  used  to  turn  out  to  look  at 
us  as  we  passed  along  the  streets,  while  some  of  the 
most  inquisitive  and  courageous  would  come  to  the  inn 
to  see  us.  I  tried  to  receive  them  as  kindly  as  I 
could,  though  I  was  often  interrupted  far  more  than 
I    liked. 

3.  Medical  Work  in  Ch'ing-chow  fu. 

In  the  autumn  of  1875,  after  the  rainy  season,  there 
was  an  immense  amount  of  suffering  from  ague.  I 
had  a  good  supply  of  quinine  and  gave  it  out  freely. 
To  the  people  around  it  seemed  nothing  short  of 
miraculous,  as  a  single  dose  of  from  eight  to  ten  grains 


SETTLING  IN  CH'ING-CHOW  FU  79 

was  usually  enough  to  stop  the  distressing  ague  at  once. 
Then  they  came  for  medicine  for  other  diseases,  but 
I  told  them  I  was  not  a  medical  man.  Still,  I  had 
some  valuable  specifics. 

Chlorodyne  I  found  most  useful.  In  the  summer 
cholera  was  very  dangerous,  carrying  people  off  sud- 
denly. I  was  fortunate  by  using  spirits  of  camphor 
in  being  able  to  save  many  lives.  One  day  the  superin- 
tendent of  police  called  on  me  to  say  that  his  wife  was 
dying  of  cholera.  Would  I  go  and  see  her  ?  I  went 
with  him,  and  found  her  laid  out  on  matting  in  the 
open  courtyard,  her  people  evidently  expecting  her  to 
pass  away  very  shortly.  I  gave  her  a  few  drops  of 
spirits  of  camphor  on  sugar  every  five  minutes,  and 
within  a  quarter  of  an  hour  she  turned  round  of  her 
own  accord  and  said  she  felt  much  better.  This  was 
one  of  many  similar  cases.  The  report  went  forth  that, 
though  it  was  very  difficult  to  get  me  to  give  medicine, 
when  I  did   1  could  cure  people  like  a  god. 

4.  Prefectural  Treasurer. 

Amongst  the  applicants  for  medicine  came  a  remark- 
able man  who  was  Treasurer  of  the  Prefecture,  all  the 
Government  taxes  having  to  pass  through  his  hands. 
He  was  about  fifty  years  of  age,  and  was  without  a  son. 
He  was  very  anxious  to  have  one,  so  took  a  secondary 
wife,  but  without  success.  His  friends  told  him  that  this 
childlessness  was  due  to  his  being  a  heavy  opium- 
smoker.  He  therefore  came  to  me  and  asked  if  I  would 
help  him  to  break  off  the  opium  habit.  I  advised  him 
to  give  up  the  opium  by  diminishing  the  quantity  from 
day  to  day.  He  asked  if  he  might  sit  with  me  every 
day.  "  I  do  not  want  to  interrupt  you  in  your  studies, 
nor  do  I  wish  you  to  spend  your  time  talking  to  me. 
All  I  wish  is  to  avoid  my  companion  opium -smokers. 
They  will  not  come  to  smoke  here." 

So  he  came  daily  about  ten  o'clock  to  sit  with  me 
while  I  worked.  He  used  to  take  out  his  tobacco-pipe, 
with  a  stem  of  about  a  yard  long.  Having  loaded  this, 
it    was    amusing    to    watch    him    light    it.     He    always 


80  FORTY-FIVE   YEARS   IN   CHINA 

brought  incense -sticks  with  him  about  a  foot  long,  and 
having  first  lighted  an  incense -stick,  his  arm  would  be 
long  enough  then  to  light  the  pipe.  He  was  a  very 
intelligent  man,  full  of  good  nature.  It  was  always  a 
pleasure  to  see  him,  and  his  daily  visits  resulted  in  talks 
on  many  matters.  He  marvelled  at  the  foreigner's  know- 
ledge of  wonders  that  were  utterly  inexplicable  to 
the  Chinese. 

5.  Change  of  Costume. 
Pondering  the  question  of  costume,  I  wondered  if  I 
would  have  more  visitors  of  the  better  class  if  I  wore 
Chinese  dress.  So  one  day  1  put  on  the  native  dress, 
shaved  my  head,  and  wore  an  artificial  queue.  As  I 
went  out  of  the  inn  for  my  usual  walk  I  met  a  little 
boy  selling  cakes  who  was  in  the  habit  of  haunting  the 
inn.  He  came  carrying  his  cakes  in  a  tray  on  his  head. 
At  sight  of  me  in  Chinese  dress  he  was  so  startled  that 
he  jumped,  and  the  trayful  of  cakes  scattered  on  the 
ground,  to  the  great  amusement  of  the  passers-by.  As 
I  walked  down  the  street  it  seemed  as  if  a  telephone 
message  had  been  sent  to  every  house,  for  men,  women, 
and  children  all  came  out  to  stare  at  the  spectacle.  I 
overheard  one  man  say  to  another,  "  Ah  !  he  looks  like 
a  man  now."  That  very  afternoon  I  was  invited  into 
a  house  to  drink  tea.  1  understood  now  that  there  had 
been  a  sound  reason  for  not  asking  me  before.  Being 
in  foreign  dress,  the  sight  would  have  been  so  strange 
that  if  1  were  inside  a  house  all  sorts  of  onlookers  would 
have  come  to  the  paper  windows.  Each  would  have 
wet  the  tip  of  his  finger  noiselessly  and  made  a  hole 
in  the  paper  and  applied  an  eye  to  it.  Every  visit  to 
the  house  would  have  thus  involved  the  mending  of  the 
window-pane.  On  the  other  hand,  when  the  foreigner 
put  on  Chinese  dress,  he  was  like  an  ordinary  Chinaman 
and  not  worth  looking  at. 

6.  Acting  as  Master  of  Feng-shui. 
Shortly  after  this  a  great  calamity  befell  the  Empire. 
The     Emperor     Tung     Chih     died.      According     to     the 
custom   of   the   country,   in   token   of   deep   mourning,   no 


SETTLING  IN  CH'ING-CHOW  FU  81 

one  was  to  shave  his  head.  It  was  a  strange  sight  to 
see  a  whole  community  thus  unshaven.  Having  put 
on  Chinese  costume,  I  adopted  the  same  custom,  and 
remained  unshaven  like  the  rest. 

At  that  time  I  was  studying  a  book  by  Dr.  Eitel  on 
"  Feng-shui  "  (the  spirits  of  wind  and  water).  This 
Chinese  superstition  has  immense  influence  over  the 
people.  Neither  railways  nor  telegraphs  could  be  con- 
structed, as  it  was  believed  they  would  greatly  interfere 
with  the  feng-shui  of  different  places.  People  could 
not  build  a  wall  nor  choose  a  cemetery,  dig  a  grave  nor 
change  the  course  of  a  river  or  road  without  seriously 
affecting  the  feng-shui  of  the  place.  For  instance,  if 
the  graveyard  or  road  or  streams  on  the  land  of  a  family 
that  had  produced  eminent  scholars  and  officials  were 
interfered  with,  it  was  believed  that  the  family  would 
produce  no  more  scholars  nor  officials,  but  be  doomed 
to  obscurity  and  poverty  and  even  sterility. 

One  day  the  Treasurer  said  he  wanted  to  select  a 
piece  of  ground  as  a  burial-place  and  would  have  to 
consult  feng-shui  professors.  He  asked  me  to  go  out 
to  his  native  village  in  the  country  and  select  a  site 
for  the  burying-ground.  When  the  day  arrived,  we 
started  walking  together,  as  the  distance  was  not  great. 
On  the  way  through  the  street  of  the  town  he  bought 
tea  and  cakes.  When  we  arrived  at  the  farm,  the  water 
was  boiled  and  we  had  refreshments,  and  then  we  went 
forth  to  look  at  the  land.  Having  surveyed  the  prospect, 
I  selected  a  likely  place,  and  said,  "If  we  foreigners 
wished  to  choose  a  place  with  good  feng-shui,  we  would 
select  such  a  spot  as  this."  He  placed  bricks  on  the 
ground  to  mark  the  site,  and  we  returned  to  the  city,  well 
pleased  with  the  day's  work. 

7.  How  1  Got  a  House. 

After  a  month  or  so  of  daily  intercourse  with  me  at 
the  inn,  he  said  one  day  :  "  You  are  a  busy  man  and 
should  not  be  subject  to  constant  interruptions  from  any 
idler  that  chooses  to  come  to  the  inn.  Why  do  you  not 
get  a  house  of  your  own?  " 


82  FORTY-FIVE  YEARS   IN  CHINA 

I  replied  :  "I  would  be  very  glad  to  have  a  house 
of  my  own,  but  I  cannot  rent  one  without  some  one 
guaranteeing  me  as  an  honest,  peaceable  man  and 
becoming  security  for  me.  I  am  a  foreigner.  No  one 
knows  me.     People  think  foreigners  are  all  bad." 

He  answered,  "  Oh,  is  that  your  only  reason?  "  And 
no   more    was    said   about   the   matter. 

Next  day,  however,  he  told  me  of  a  house  which  I 
could  get,  and  he  was  willing  to  become  security  for 
me.  So  1  went  with  him  to  see  the  house.  It  was 
adjoining  the  Yamen  of  the  city  magistrate.  A  rent 
of  nine  dollars  (about  thirty  shilHngs)  a  month  was  asked 
for  it.  In  three  days  I  took  possession  of  it  in  perfect 
peace . 

My  house  was  built  round  a  little  courtyard  facing 
south,  about  twenty  yards  long  and  ten  yards  broad. 
My  landlord  was  fond  of  flowers,  and  he  kept  the  yard 
well  filled  with  plants  in  pot  and  with  flowering  shrubs, 
which  he  tended  daily.  On  the  north  side  were  the  chief 
apartments,  which  I  occupied.  They  were  three  rooms, 
the  central  and  largest  one  serving  as  a  meeting-house 
at  first.  The  side  room,  towards  the  west,  was  fitted 
with  a  stone  floor,  with  flues  under  it,  and  a  fire  to  heat 
it  could  be  lit  from  the  outside.  This  I  found  most 
comfortable  in  winter.  I  made  it  my  bedroom  and 
study,  and  no  other  stove  was  needed.  The  floors  of 
the  other  rooms  were  of  clay  or  mud.  Behind  the  chief 
apartments  was  an  orchard  of  about  half  an  acre  in  size, 
filled  with  mulberry -trees,  the  leaves  of  which  were  used 
to  feed  silkworms.  The  rent  for  the  house  and  grounds, 
together  with  a  little  furniture,  cost  me  about  four  and 
a  half  Mexican  dollars  a  moon,  about  £6  a  year. 
(China  still  counts  her  time  in  moons,  and  not  in 
months.)  I  paid  nothing  to  the  landlord  for  being 
my  gardener.      It   was  a  labour  of  love   with  him. 

My  food  was  very  simple.  Breakfast  consisted  of 
millet  gruel,  much  like  oatmeal  gruel,  which  my  servant 
obtained  outside  in  the  street.  It  was  usually  covered 
with  a  thick  layer  of  brown  sugar,  which  in  winter  kept 
the    gruel    underneath    warm   for    an    hour.      A    basinful 


SETTLING  IN  CH'ING-CHOW  FU  83 

of  this  cost  five  cash.  I  usually  took  with  it  a  millet 
pancake,  as  thin  as  a  sheet  of  paper,  about  the  size 
of  a  Welsh  cheese  in  circumference.  This  cost  only 
three  cash.  But  I  was  extravagant  in  one  thing  :  I 
always  used  foreign  butter  with  the  pancake.  My 
breakfast,  including  tea,  never  cost  me  more  than  ten 
cash,  about  a  halfpenny  at  the  current  rate  of  exchange. 
My  midday  meal  was  also  bought  on  the  street  by  my 
servant.  It  consisted  of  four  rice  dumplings,  each 
wrapped  in  a  broad  leaf,  sold  by  hawkers  in  the  street, 
and  altogether  cost  less  than  a  penny. 

My  evening  meal  was  luxurious.  Instead  of  taking 
it  at  home  I  usually  went  to  a  restaurant.  There  I 
would  order  one  evening  chi-p'ien  (a  course  of  the  white 
meat  of  a  chicken  boiled  into  soup  and  nicely  flavoured), 
and  the  next  evening  ii-p'ien  (a  dish  of  good  fish  with 
well -flavoured  soup).  After  this  meat  or  fish  course  I 
would  order  four  little  steamed  loaves  of  bread,  the 
size  and  shape  of  a  small  glass  tumbler.  With  these 
I  drank  as  much  native  tea  as  1  liked,  and  the  whole 
meal  cost  the  extravagant  sum  of  not  more  than  one 
hundred  and  twenty  cash,   or  sixpence. 

In  winter  I  used  to  begin  my  evening  meal  with 
two  ounces  of  hot  yellow  rice-wine,  costing  about  six 
cash,  which  in  a  few  minutes  would  cause  my  cold 
feet  to  tingle  with  a  delightful  glow. 

After  dining  I  would  enter  into  conversation  with 
other  visitors  in  order  to  practise  my  Chinese  and  to 
learn  the  news  of  the  day. 

By  way  of  change  I  used  to  go  to  a  Mohammedan 
restaurant,  which  had  the  reputation  of  being  cleaner 
than  the  usual  Chinese  eating-house.  There  they  served 
me  with  roast  beef  or  roast  mutton,  deliciously  flavoured. 

During  the  time  of  the  great  famine  in  Shansi  cook- 
ing was  reduced  to  its  simplest  elements.  No  meat 
or  vegetable  of  any  kind  was  to  be  got.  There  was 
an  excellent  substitute,  however,  in  what  the  natives 
called  gu  p'i  (orange-peel).  On  arrival  at  an  inn  at 
noon  or  night  all  that  was  necessary  was  to  order  this 
dish.     The   innkeeper   would  then  take  some  flour,   add 


84  FORTY-FIVE   YEARS   IN   CHINA 

water,  knead  it  into  dough,  and  flatten  it  out  into  a 
large  pancake.  Then  he  would  take  the  thin  dough 
between  his  thumb  and  finger,  snap  it  off  piece  by 
piece,  and  throw  it  into  a  pot  of  boiling  water.  After 
a  few  minutes  these  snippets  were  sufficiently  cooked 
to  be  ladled  into  a  basin,  with  some  water  which  made 
the  soup.  Into  the  basin  were  then  added  a  few  drops 
of  vinegar  and  a  pinch  of  salt.  The  "  orange-peel  " 
was  then  ready  for  consumption.  It  was  always  most 
wholesome  and  very  quickly  made. 

8.    ANTI -FOREIGN    EX-MAGISTRATE. 

A  retired  ex -magistrate  who  lived  in  the  city  and 
had  a  violent  prejudice  against  foreigners  called  on  the 
superintendent  of  police,  who  was  my  landlord,  and 
rated  him  soundly  for  daring  to  rent  his  house  to  a 
foreign  devil.  Now,  this  superintendent  was  a  very 
smart  man,  more  than  equal  to  the  occasion.  He  replied 
that  the  Tao-tai  (who  ruled  over  three  prefectures,  of 
which  Ch'ing-chow  fu  was  one)  had  lately  issued  a 
proclamation  warning  the  people  generally  not  to  abuse 
foreigners  and  stir  up  international  complications.  What 
could  he  do  ?  If  he  refused  to  rent  his  house  to  the 
foreigner,  he  would  get  into  trouble  with  the  Tao-tai. 
And  there  was  the  Prefectural  Treasurer  to  reckon  with. 
He    had    become    security    for    the    foreigner. 

The  ex -magistrate  was  nonplussed.  Very  angry 
in  failing  to  carry  his  point  with  the  superinten- 
dent, his  former  subordinate,  he  went  to  the  city 
magistrate,  and  complained  to  him  that  wherever 
foreigners  went  they  caused  trouble,  and  begged  him 
not  to  let  me  remain  in  the  city.  The  magistrate  replied 
that  inasmuch  as  his  superior,  the  Prefect,  who  ruled 
ten  counties,  lived  in  the  city,  he  had  better  interview 
him,  and  if  he  ordered  it  the  magistrate  could  take  action. 

So  the  ex -magistrate  next  interviewed  the  Prefect,  a 
Manchu.  But  the  answer  he  received  was  :  "  There 
are  many  foreigners  living  in  Peking,  and  there  is  no 
trouble  there.  I  hear  that  this  man  gives  away  medicine 
and    does    a    lot    of    good    to    the    poor.      Therefore    it 


SETTLING  IN   CH'ING-CHOW  FU  85 

would  be  a  pity  to  make  trouble  without  cause.  If, 
however,  you  hear  of  him  doing  any  wrong,  let  me 
know,  and  I  shall  attend  to  the  matter." 

In  China  nothing  is  done  in  secret.  The  whole  city 
soon  knew  of  the  discomfiture  of  the  ex -magistrate,  and 
none  were  sorry  that  his  fussiness  had  been  checked  by 
the  officials  in  authority.  After  this  no  one  of  a  less 
rank  dared  interfere  with  me,  and  I  was  allowed  to 
live  in  peace. 

Once  again  the  ex -magistrate  tried  to  stir  up  trouble 
against  me.  During  the  famine -time  I  established  an 
orphanage  for  children  whose  parents  had  died  of  starva- 
tion. One  day  one  of  my  writers,  a  Chinese  B.A.,  was 
going  along  the  streets  with  a  child  whom  he  was  taking 
to  the  orphanage.  He  met  this  ex -magistrate,  who  said 
to  him,  "  Do  you  mean  to  say  that  you,  a  scholar,  are 
assisting  the   foreigner   to   kidnap   children?" 

This  was  more  than  my  writer  could  stand,  and  he 
retorted,  "  Who  dares  to  say  that  1  am  kidnapping 
children?"  And  he  gave  the  ex -official  such  a  piece 
of  his  mind  there  and  then  in  the  middle  of  the  street 
that  all   the   onlookers   were  lost  in   astonishment. 

The  ex -magistrate  was  furious  at  being  thus  publicly 
insulted,  and  went  straight  to  the  Prefect  to  report  that 
we  were  kidnapping  children.  My  landlord,  the  super- 
intendent of  police,  who  had  been  friendly  to  me  from 
the  first,  told  me  of  the  affair.  In  order  to  nip  the 
trouble  in  the  bud,  I  wrote  to  the  Prefect  complain- 
ing that  there  were  mischief-makers  trying  to  stir  up 
public  opinion  against  me,  and  begged  him  to  put  a 
check  on  these  evildoers. 

Next  morning  a  proclamation  from  the  Prefect 
appeared  on  the  city  wall,  saying  that  any  one  who 
took  charge  of  orphans  whose  parents  had  died  of 
famine  was  a  public  benefactor,  to  whom  all  the  people 
should  be  grateful,  and  any  evil-minded  men  found 
circulating  false  reports  would  be  severely  dealt  with. 
Thus  the  final  attempt  of  the  ex -magistrate  against  me 
failed,  and  public  opinion  sided  against  him  in  favour 
of  the  orphanage. 


86  FORTY-FIVE   YEARS   IN   CHINA 

9.  Study   of  Native  Religious  Books. 

Having  settled  in  my  own  house,  I  was  able  to  go  on 
with  my  studies  without  interruption.  Previous  to  this 
1  had  studied  the  Confucian  Classics  translated  by  Dr. 
Legge.  I  now  began  on  popular  religious  books  which 
were  used  by  the  devout  sects.  The  most  important 
of  these  was  the  "  King  Shin  Lu  "  ("  Record  of  Devout 
Faith  "),  a  collection  of  the  most  popular  Confucian 
and  Taoist  tracts  in  the  language.  On  inquiry  after 
the  chief  book  on  Buddhism,  I  was  told  of  the 
"  Diamond  Classic,"  and  a  Chinese  friend  presented  me 
with  a  beautiful  little  copy  in  two  volumes,  all  written 
by  hand.  It  was  so  neatly  got  up  and  the  calligraphy 
so  beautiful  that  I  thought  I  could  not  do  better  than 
make  it  my  copybook.  So  I  spent  about  an  hour  every 
day  studying  and  copying  the  Classics.  After  each 
section  of  the  text  followed  a  short  explanation  of  terms. 

This  practice,  together  with  the  study  of  "  King  Shin 
Lu,"  gave  a  vocabulary  of  religious  terms  that  was 
intelligible  to  the  Chinese,  differing  in  many  respects 
from  that  adopted  in  the  translation  of  the  Bible.  After 
absorbing  the  religious  thought,  as  well  as  the  vocabu- 
lary, of  these  books,  1  prepared  a  catechism  in  Chinese, 
avoiding  foreign  names  as  much  as  possible,  as  the 
Chinese  hated  foreign  things,  and  adopting  our  Lord's 
method  of  appeals  to  conscience  rather  than  appealing 
to  an  authority  the  Chinese  did  not  recognize.  I 
translated  "  The  Philosophy  of  the  Plan  of  Salvation  " 
at  this  time,  a  Religious  Tract  Society  book,  also  the 
first  part  of  Jeremy  Taylor's  "  Holy  Living  "  and  Francis 
de  Sales's  "  Devout  Life." 

10.  Intercourse  with  Mohammedans. 

Another  epoch-making  step  in  my  life  was  taken  at 
this  time.  From  Edward  Irving's  remarkable  missionary 
sermon  I  had  learned  that  the  right  method  was  to 
visit  the  leaders  of  thought.  Now,  there  were  in  Ch'ing- 
chow  fu  two  Mohammedan  mosques,  belonging  to 
different    sects   of   the   faith   of    Islam.      There    was   also 


SETTLING   IN   CH'ING-CHOW   FU  87 

a  theological  college  for  the  training  of  Mohammedan 
teachers,  and  in  the  country  round  were  scores  of 
mosques,    with   pastors    over   each. 

I  sent  a  messenger  to  the  chief  Mullah  of  the  leading 
Mohammedan  mosque  at  Ch'ing-chow  fu,  asking  if  I 
might  call  on  him.  He  sent  a  very  civil  reply,  appoint- 
ing a  certain  day  and  hour.  At  the  time  fixed  I  called, 
and  found  he  had  invited  the  professors  of  the  college 
and  the  leading  teachers  of  the  country  mosques  to  be 
present  on  the  occasion.  I  was  received  by  the  chief, 
who,  after  introducing  me  to  the  chancel,  placed  me 
in  the  seat  of  honour  there.  Biscuits  were  laid  out  on 
the  table  before  me,  and  he  made  tea  with  his  own 
hand.  While  we  drank  tea  general  remarks  were  made 
about  Arabia,  Egypt,  Europe,  how  1  came  to  China 
round  Africa,  and  such  topics.  The  good  gentleman 
then  began  a  very  carefully  prepared  sermon,  lasting 
for  about  twenty  minutes,  on  the  importance  and  value 
of  the  Mohammedan  faith,  quoting  frequently  many 
wonderful  miracles  as  proofs  of  the  Divine  origin  of 
the  religion.  After  referring  with  respect  to  the 
patriarchs  and  prophets  amongst  the  Jews,  and  also  to 
Christ  and  His  Apostles,  he  finished  by  dwelling  on  the 
higher  merits  of  Mohammed. 

On  the  wall  beside  him  hung  a  diagram  of  what 
might  be  called  a  religious  genealogical  tree,  beginning 
with  Adam  and  branching  off  with  the  names  of  the 
noted  patriarchs,  prophets,  and  apostles  ;  but  the  top- 
most branch  of  all  bore  an  apple,  representing 
Mohammed . 

I  could  not  but  admire  the  great  earnestness  with 
which  my  host  spoke  and  the  great  care  with  which 
he  had  arranged  his  arguments.  When  he  finished  I 
thanked  him  for  all  his  kind  attention,  and  said  that  I 
would  think  over  all  he  had  said  and  that  on  some  future 
occasion  we  would  have  further  talk  on  the  matter. 
So  saying,   I  took  leave  of  them  all. 

When  I  returned  home  and  thought  over  the  evidence 
of  Islam  put  forward  by  the  pastor,  I  realized  that  the 
evidence    with    which    1    was   then   prepared   to   advocate 


88  FORTY-FIVE   YEARS   IN   CHINA 

Christianity  would  be  useless  to  bring  forward  to  the 
Mohammedans.  For  every  prophecy  I  could  quote  they 
would  match  it  with  a  similar  one  of  their  own,  and 
for  every  miracle  I  could  mention  they  could  produce 
a  hundred.  Thus  if  ever  I  was  able  to  win  Moham- 
medans over  to  Christianity  it  would  be  necessary  for 
me  to  adopt  a  different  line  of  argument  altogether. 
I  therefore  began  to  study  every  book  I  had  on  Moham- 
medanism, together  with  Sale's  and  Rodwell's  transla- 
tions of  the  Koran.  I  examined  the  views  of  Carlyle 
and  others,  who  regarded  Mohammedanism  as  not  unlike 
a  Unitarian  form  of  Christianity  and  who  considered  it 
had  rendered  great  service  in  the  uplifting  of  the  Arabs 
from  idolatry  and  superstition  to  the  monotheism  taught 
by  the  Jews  and  Christians. 

I  then  prepared  an  address  to  deliver  to  the  head 
pastor  in  support  of  the  Christian  faith.  The  Principal 
and  about  a  dozen  students  of  the  theological  college 
took  advantage  of  a  holiday  to  call  on  me.  The  Prin- 
cipal on  this  day  had  also  prepared  a  sermon,  which, 
after  the  preliminary  civilities,  he  proceeded  to  deliver. 
Much  of  it  was  of  the  same  nature  as  that  given  by 
the  chief  pastor.  At  the  close  'I  thanked  him,  and 
asked  if  he  would  like  to  hear  what  I  had  to  say  on 
Christianity.  He  expressed  his  wish  to  listen,  and  I 
delivered  my  address,  during  which  the  students  more 
than  once  broke  out  into  remarks  of  appreciation. 
Perhaps  1  went  too  far  in  my  home  thrusts,  but  certain 
it  was  that  the  Principal  never  brought  his  students 
again  to  see  me,  lest  I  should  undermine  their  faith. 
Still,  there  was  one  old  pastor  who  often  came  alone 
to  visit  me.  In  his  case  1  had  to  make  another  new 
departure  in  tactics,  which,  though  very  bold,  proved 
a  success. 

Whenever  he  came  he  was  full  of  his  faith,  and  used 
to  quote  both  Arabian  and  Persian  authorities  in  support 
of  his  views  in  opposition  to  mine.  One  day  I  said  to 
him,  "  Never  quote  these  authorities  again."  In 
astonishment  he  asked,  "Why  not?"  To  which  I 
replied  :     "  They    were    men    more    learned,    it    is    true, 


SETTLING  IN  CH'ING-CHOW  FU  89 

than  the  people  of  their  day,  but  their  knowledge  is 
surpassed  to-day.  I  have  travelled  through  countries 
they  never  knew,  and  am  intimate  with  the  minute  details 
of  the  life,  customs,  manners  and  thought  of  various 
races,  and  have  studied  their  various  systems  of  religion." 

He  was  not  taken  aback  by  this,  but  added,  "  They 
wrote,  however,  under  the  guidance  of  the  Spirit  of 
God,   which   cannot   err." 

I  replied  :  "  And  I,  too,  write  under  the  guidance 
of  God,  and  I  would  not  have  been  here  in  China  to- 
day but  that  the  Spirit  of  God  sent  me  here,  a  later 
Teacher  than  any  you  have  in  Islam." 

After  a  silence  he  rose  and  made  a  deep  obeisance 
to  me,  saying  solemnly,  "  I  grieve  that  I  have  not 
listened  to  the  messenger  of   God." 

On  leaving  he  requested  that  he  might  often  come 
and  sit  quietly  in  my  room  while  I  worked,  for  he 
found  himself  always  strengthened  after  his  visits  to  me. 
And  so  he  frequently  came  to  see  me  as  long  as  I 
remained  in  Ch'ing-chow  fu.  He  was  one  of  those 
devout  souls  whose  delight  it  was  to  seek  God. 

1 1 .  Visit  to  Leader  of  Religious  Sect. 

My  next  move  was  to  reach  the  head  of  one  of  the 
most  popular  native  sects  in  the  district,  who  lived  some 
twenty  miles  off  in  the  mountains.  I  sent  two  messengers 
to  visit  him  and  ask  him  to  call  on  me  when  he  came 
into  the  city.  He  replied  that  he  rarely  came  to  Ch'ing- 
chow  fu,  but  that  if  I  went  his  way  he  would  be  very 
glad  to  see  me  at  his  house.  I  therefore  made  a  special 
journey  to  see  him. 

I  determined  to  carry  out  on  this  trip  the  instructions 
of  our  Lord  to  His  disciples  in  the  tenth  chapter  of 
Matthew.  It  was  in  the  month  of  July,  and  1  made 
the  journey  on  foot. 

On  arrival  at  my  destination  I  met  with  one  of  the 
most  hostile  receptions  I  ever  received,  not  from  my 
host  but  from  one  of  his  evangelists,  a  most  fanatical 
character,  who  happened  to  be  staying  over  the  night 
in  the  same  house.     During  the  evening  meal,  and  after, 


90  FORTY-FIVE   YEARS   IN   CHINA 

far  into  the  night,  he  continued  denouncing  the  Christian 
religion  as  being  cruel  and  inhuman.  His  chief  proof 
of  its  inhumanity  lay  in  the  works  of  a  medical  mis- 
sionary, in  which  there  were  illustrations  of  human 
anatomy  and  surgery.  Ignorant  of  the  humane  object 
of  surgery,  he  regarded  operations  as  proof  of  the  cruelty 
of  Christians.  He  was  so  virulent  in  his  attack  on 
Christianity  that  he  refused  to  listen  to  any  word  of 
explanation.  I  saw  it  was  useless  to  attempt  any 
reasonable  conversation . 

Next  morning  I  called  my  host  aside,  and  told  him 
that  God  had  sent  me  from  the  other  side  of  the  world 
with  a  special  message  to  him  and  to  men  like  him 
who  were  among  the  best  people  on  earth,  but  after 
what  had  passed  the  night  before  I  judged  he  was 
not  prepared  to  receive  it,  and  I  therefore  proposed 
to  go  my  way  at  once.  Immediately  upon  hearing  this 
he  apologized  for  the  conduct  of  his  evangelist,  who, 
he  said,  would  be  leaving  at  once,  and  begged  me  to 
remain  another  day  so  that  I  might  explain  my  message. 
I  did  so,  and  we  had  a  hallowed  time  together,  when 
we  truly  felt  that  God  was  present  with  us. 

On  taking  my  leave  the  following  day  to  visit  others 
who  were  seeking  after  the  highest  truth  my  host  sent 
one  of  his  servants  to  show  me  the  way  over  the  moun- 
tains and  put  me  on  the  main  road  in  the  direction  I 
wished  to  go.  Bidding  farewell  to  this  man,  I  told 
him  that  in  showing  me  the  way  and  thus  helping  to 
bring  together  men  who  sought  after  the  highest  he 
was  co-operating   with  God. 

12.  Kindness  of  Country  People. 

I  travelled  alone  on  my  way  until  it  was  getting 
near  noon.  The  sun  was  high,  and  the  heat  was  great. 
In  spite  of  the  Chinese  straw  hat  on  my  head,  with  a 
brim  almost  as  large  as  a  parasol,  I  was  very  hot,  and 
seeing  a  big  tree  by  the  roadside  with  thick  branches, 
and  abundance  of  leaves  fluttering  in  the  breeze,  I  sat 
down  in  its  shade  to  cool  myself.  Presently,  labourers 
passed    by    with    hoes   on    their    shoulders   on    their    way 


SETTLING  IN   CH'ING-CHOW   FU  91 

from  the  fields  to  their  noonday  meal,  and  I  greeted 
them  one  by  one.  Then  I  overheard  two  of  them  who 
had  just  passed  saying,  "  Think  of  that.  He  has  passed 
him  without  a  word  !  "  Scarcely  had  they  spoken,  when 
I  saw  a  man  ahead  of  them  wheel  round  and  come  back 
to  me.  He  asked  where  I  was  going,  and  when  he 
heard,  he  said  :  "  You  cannot  possibly  go  there  now. 
There  is  a  great  flood  in  the  river.  Come  with  me  and 
wait   till   the   water   subsides." 

1  gladly  went  with  him  to  the  village,  where  he  took 
me  to  a  school,  usually  one  of  the  best  buildings  in  a 
hamlet.  There  I  was  given  my  dinner  with  the  school- 
master, and  I  remained  talking  until  about  five  o'clock, 
when  a  man  came  in  to  say  that  the  river  was  less  swollen 
and    could    be   crossed. 

Half  a  dozen  men  out  of  the  village  came  with  me 
to  the  river,  which  was  about  a  hundred  yards  wide, 
with  a  powerful  current.  There  was  no  bridge,  and 
the  only  way  was  to  strip  ourselves  and  ford  it.  One 
man  made  my  clothes  into  a  bundle,  which  he  carried 
on  his  head,  and  led  the  way  side  by  side  with  a  second 
man.  I  had  a  man  on  each  side  of  me,  and  two  more 
followed  close  behind.  As  we  proceeded,  the  river 
became  deeper  and  deeper,  till  we  were  breast  high  in 
the  water.  The  current  was  so  strong  that  I  felt  big 
stones  rolling  under  my  feet.  Whenever  I  stumbled 
the  men  around  me  at  once  steadied  me  until  we  safely 
reached  the  farther  side.  When  I  saw  how  dangerous 
the  river  had  been,  and  that  I  would  probably  have 
been  drowned  had  I  attempted  to  ford  it  alone,  I  was 
greatly  moved  by  the  kindness  of  all  these  men  to  me, 
a  perfect  stranger,  and  told  them;  I  was  utterly  at  a  loss 
how  to  thank  them  for  their  goodness. 

"  Oh,"  they  cried,  "  do  not  talk  like  that.  Do  you 
not  remember  us?  We  know  you.  At  New  Year  time 
we  visited  a  famous  temple  near  Ch'ing-chow  fu  to 
worship  there.  Hearing  of  the  foreigner  in  the  city, 
we  called  at  the  inn  where  you  were  staying.  You 
received  us  courteously,  answered  all  our  questions,  and 
gave    us    tea.      This    is    the    first    opportunity    we    have 


92  FORTY-FIVE   YEARS  IN  CHINA 

had  of  returning  your  kindness."  They  then  pointed 
out  the  way  I  was  to  go  for  my  next  appointment, 
and  we  parted,  wishing  each  other  well. 

I  reached  my  destination  in  another  mountain  village 
before  the  sun  set.  The  friend  I  purposed  to  see  was  an 
intelligent  man,  who  had  often  called  on  me  in  Ch'ing- 
chow  fu,  and  had  held  long  conversations  with  me. 
He  gave  me  a  most  hearty  welcome,  and,  as  in  the  other 
village,  took  me  to  the  school  and  introduced  me  to  the 
teacher,  a  fine  old  man  of  about  sixty  years  of  age. 
It  was  not  a  primary  school,  but  an  advanced  one  with 
about  twenty  students,  ranging  from  seventeen  to  twenty- 
five  years  of  age.     To  these  I  was  introduced. 

As  it  was  hot,  they  decided  to  have  their  evening  meal 
out  in  the  open  courtyard.  There  we  had  a  most  happy 
time,  discussing  many  points  of  contrast  between  the 
East  and  West.  After  supper  the  students  came  round 
me,  each  bringing  a  fan,  and  asking  me  to  write  some- 
thing on  it.  This  is  a  very  general  custom  in  China, 
and  people  are  very  proud  of  showing  the  handwriting 
of  noted  personag'es  on  their  fans.  I  made  a  bargain  with 
the  students,  that  if  I  wrote  in  English  on  one  side  of 
their  fans,  they  would  write  the  translations  in  Chinese  on 
the  other  side.  So  I  wrote  a  verse  of  a  hymn  on  each 
fan.  Thus  we  became  friendly,  and  they  asked  me  to 
visit  them  again,  and  tell  them  more  about  the  new 
doctrine  referred  to  in  the  hymns.  On  parting,  I  was 
told  I  would  pass  through  a  market  town  where  one 
of  their   annual  Taoist  festivals  was  to  be  held. 

13.  Midnight  Gathering  of  Women  at  Taoist 
Temple. 

When  I  arrived  at  the  town,  I  called  on  an  inn- 
keeper who  had  visited  me  more  than  once  in  Ch'ing- 
chow  fu.  He  made  me  very  welcome,  and  gave  me 
particulars  about  the  religious  gathering.  It  was  a 
remarkable  one,  attended,  not  by  men,  but  by  women, 
and  these  for  the  most  part  of  forty  years  of  age  and 
upwards.  They  were  there  chiefly  to  pray  for  a  good 
harvest,  but  some  had  come  to  petition   for  sons. 


SETTLING   IN   CH'ING-CHOW   FU  93 

During  the  day  numberless  parties  of  women,  some 
in  twos  and  threes,  some  half  a  dozen  in  number,  some 
a  dozen  together,  arrived  in  the  town,  and  hearing  of 
a  foreigner  in  the  place,  were  curious  to  see  me.  The 
little  inn  all  day  long  was  filled  with  women  coming 
in  turns,  and  putting  all  sorts  of  questions  to  me  about 
farming  and  harvest  in  my  country,  about  parents  and 
children,  and  about  religion,  which  gave  me  opportunities 
of  explaining  Christianity. 

The  chief  temple,  where  the  service  was  to  be  held, 
was  in  charge  of  a  Taoist  priest,  whose  permission  I 
asked  to  watch  the  ceremony.  This  took  place  at  mid- 
night. Each  woman  brought  him  her  thanksgiving, 
mostly  in  the  form  of  bags  of  millet  and  in  kind.  He 
wrote  down  the  names  of  all  the  donors,  with  the 
quantities  they  brought,  on  two  long  sheets  of  yellow 
paper.  One  of  these  sheets  was  pasted  on  the  temple  walls 
outside,  so  that  passers-by  could  see  the  lists  of  donations. 
The  other  was  laid  aside  till  midnight,  when  it  was  burnt 
before  the  chief  image  of  the  temple,  so  that  the  names 
could  ascend  on  high.  During  the  service  the  priest 
burnt  incense,  and  chanted  prayers,  but  not  a  word  of 
teaching  or  exhortation  was  given,  so  that  I  felt  that 
the  people  were  like  sheep  without  a  shepherd.  The 
service  over,  some  of  the  women  retired  to  their  lodgings 
in  the  town,  others  lay  down  in  the  temple  courtyards, 
whilst  the  most  devout  continued  their  prayers  until  sleep 
overtook  them. 

The  following  day  all  departed  in  groups  to  their 
respective  homes,  and  I  returned  to  Ch'ing-chow  fu, 
having  found  the  devout  always  ready  to  welcome  and 
hear  me,  and  give  me  every  hospitality,  thus  proving 
the  soundness  of  the  principles  laid  down  by  our  Lord 
in  the  tenth  chapter  of  St.  Matthew. 

14.  Visit  to  Hermit. 

About  this  time  I  visited  a  cave  in  the  mountains 
where  lived  a  Taoist  hermit,  searching  after  true  religion. 
I  arrived  at  the  nearest  village  one  evening,  and  at  the 
inn  I  learned  more  about  the  hermit,  and  was  told  how 


94  FORTY-FIVE  YEARS  IN   CHINA 

to  reach  the  cave.  At  dawn  of  day  next  morning  I 
found  my  way  there,  and  began  to  talk  to  him  about 
rehgion.  He  then  told  me  that  after  I  had  visited 
the  head  of  the  native  sects  in  these  mountains,  the 
latter  had  called  together  his  disciples  from  the  various 
villages  and  had  described  my  visit.  The  hermit,  having 
gone  with  the  other  disciples,  had  received  books  that 
I  had  left  with  the  leader,  which  he  was  now  carefully 
studying.  Having  realized  who  I  was,  he  was  very 
respectful,  and  insisted  on  my  sharing  his  breakfast. 
It  consisted  mainly  of  millet  gruel,  which  is  as  whole- 
some a  diet  as  oatmeal  porridge.  Then  he  told  me 
of  the  deepest  truths  which  he  was  studying  in  Taoism, 
and  I  endeavoured  to  point  out  to  him  that  Christi- 
anity explained  those  problems  of  his  more  fully  and 
clearly. 

Two  or  three  years  after  there  were  many  little 
Christian  churches  in  the  villages,  the  result  of  the 
inhabitants  sending  for  Christian  teachers  from  our 
station  at  Ch'ing-chow  fu, 

15.  First  Converts. 

In  order  to  meet  the  need  of  the  native  sects,  I 
collected  all  the  catechisms  in  English  and  Welsh  that  I 
could  lay  hands  on,  and  out  of  these  selected  what  was 
best,  adding  questions  and  answers  that  would  appeal 
to  the  consciences  of  the  Chinese.  I  also  made  use  of 
the  most  popular  native  sheet  tracts,  leaving  out  what 
was  idolatrous,  and  inserting  clauses  on  the  worship  of 
the  one  true  God. 

Whilst  I  was  preparing  the  new  'Catechism,  a  devout 
man,  by  trade  a  weaver  of  silk  bands  and  cord,  used 
to  visit  me  and  talk  about  religion.  He  begged  for 
a  copy  of  the  catechism  to  read  and  commit  to  memory, 
it  being  a  custom  amongst  the  devout  Chinese  to  commit 
sacred  portions  to  memory.  He  took  it  home  with 
great  joy  and  read  it  every  day,  learning  it  page  by 
page.  One  day,  while  he  was  thus  engaged,  his  wife 
began  weeping  bitterly.  He  asked  what  was  distressing 
her. 


SETTLING  IN  CH'ING-CHOW  FU  95 

"  You  are  going  to  heaven,  and  I  shall  be  left 
behind,"  she  replied,  weeping  still  more  bitterly. 

"  But  you  can  also  learn  about  this  religion  and  get 
to   heaven,"   he   said. 

"  No,  how  can  I  learn  the  book  when  I  cannot  read  a 
single   character?"   she   cried. 

"  I  will  teach  you." 

"  But  I  am  so  stupid.     I  cannot  learn  the  characters." 

"  If  you  learn  only  one  character  a  day,  it  will  not 
be  difficult.  In  ten  days  you  will  know  ten  characters, 
in  one  hundred  days  one  hundred  characters.  It  will 
not  be  long  before  you  know  all  the  characters  in  the 
book,    if   you   persevere." 

"  I  will  persevere,"  she  repUed,  "  if  you  will  teach 
me." 

So   they   learnt   the   catechism   together. 

Besides  the  catechism'  I  had  made  a  selection  of  about 
thirty  hymns,  which  would  appeal  to  the  non- Christians 
without  need  of  explanation.  These  the  weaver  and 
his  wife  learnt  by  heart  when  they  had  finished  the 
catechism.  Their  two  children,  a  boy  of  seven  and 
a  girl  of  five,  hearing  them  reciting  the  hymns  every 
day,  learnt  them  even  more  quickly  than  their  parents. 
When  they  had  committed  all  to  memory,  the  weaver 
and  his  wife  begged  for  baptism.  Now,  as  baptism 
by  immersion  was  a  most  unusual  rite  in  China,  I  did 
not  know  how  the  non- Christians  would  regard  it,  so 
I  took  the  two  outside  the  West  Gate  of  Ch'ing-chow 
fu,  where  there  was  a  river  of  beautifully  clear  water, 
and  no  houses  but  a  Buddhist  temple  near.  I  called 
on  the  priest  and  explained  to  him  the  meaning  of 
the  ceremony,  asking  if  he  would  lend  a  room  or  two 
in  the  temple  for  our  use.  He  readily  consented,  and 
I  took  the  couple  out  in  the  river  and  baptized  them, 
after  which  we  changed  our  garments  in  the  temple. 

At  the  end  of  1875  I  had  occasion  to  go  to  Chefoo 
on  business.  I  had  been  ten  months  in  the  interior, 
having  seen  foreigners  only  twice.  By  that  time  only 
three  men  had  become  Christians,  one  the  weaver,  the 
second   my   teacher.      Early    the    next   year,    however,    I 


96  FORTY-FIVE  YEARS  IN  CHINA 

had  some  fifteen  to  baptize.'  For  this  occasion,  I  had 
a  baptistery  made  in  my  own  courtyard,  and  to  prevent 
any  evil  reports  spreading  amongst  the  non- Christians 
about  this  unusual  rite,  I  asked  my  old  friend 
the  Treasurer  of  the  Prefecture  if  he  would  like  to  be 
present.  He  consented,  and  his  presence  there  was 
sufficient  guarantee  to  the  public  outside  that  everything 
done    was    right   and   proper. 

'  According  to  statistics  at  the  end  of  1876  we  had  in  all  62  com- 
municants, of  whom  over  40  belonged  to  the  Church  in  Chefoo.  (See 
Conference  Records,  1877.) 


CHAPTER     IV 
FAMINE   RELIEF   IN   SHANTUNG 

I.  Failure  of  Crops. 

The  south  of  China  is  often  subject  to  floods,  while 
the  north  is  subject  to  drought  owing  to  the  rain  having 
been  already  precipitated  in  the  south.  The  years  1876-8 
were  in  North  China  almost  rainless.  More  than  ten 
provinces  were  said  to  be  suffering  from  drought  at 
this  time,  the  chief  centre  of  distress  being  the  southern 
half  of  Shansi  province,  with  a  radius  of  nearly  a  thousand 
miles.  The  suffering  in  all  the  northern  provinces  was 
so  terrible  that  it  was  said  that  in  all  history,  even 
in  that  of  China,  the  distress  had  never  been  equalled. 
It  struck  terror  into  the  hearts  of  all. 

In  the  spring  of  1876,  when  the  rain  did  not  come 
after  the  farmers  had  sown  their  crops,  the  officials  and 
people  were  much  distressed  and  visited  the  various 
temples  praying  for  it.  The  city  magistrate  in  Ch'ing- 
chow  fu  issued  a  proclamation  calling  on  the  people  to 
fast  from  eating  any  meat,  especially  beef,  and  on  a 
certain  day  he  put  chains  round  his  own  neck,  wrists, 
and  feet,  and  walked  through  the  city  to  the  chief  temple 
to  pray  for  rain.  This  was  an  unusual  sight,  as  Chinese 
officials  always  ride  in  chairs.  Immense  crowds  of 
country  people  followed  in  his  train,  wearing  chaplets 
of  willow  twigs  and  leaves.  Whilst  the  magistrate  pros- 
trated himself  before  the  idols  in  the  temple,  the  people 
prostrated  themselves  in  the  courtyards  outside,  most 
importunately  petitioning  for  rain. 

2.    Posters  Exhorting   People  to   Pray  to  God. 
While  they  were  all  thus  praying  to  the  idols  every- 
where I  prepared  some  yellow  placards  with  only  a  few 

7  97 


98  FORTY-FIVE   YEARS   IN   CHINA 

words  on  each,  saying  that  if  the  people  wanted  rain,  the 
best  way  was  to  turn  from  dead  idols  to  the  living 
God  and  pray  unto  Him  and  obey  His  laws  and  con- 
ditions of  life.  I  then  rode  on  horseback  and  visited 
the  eleven  county  towns  of  the  prefecture  of  Ch'ing-chow 
fu  and  pasted  the  placards  on  the  city  gates.  The  result 
was  very  striking.  On  going  into  each  town,  I  would 
stay  for  refreshment  at  one  of  the  principal  inns.  Before 
I  had  finished  my  meal,  deputations  of  elderly  men  would 
come  to  the  inn,  go  down  on  their  knees,  and  beg 
me  to  tell  them  how  to  worship  and  pray  to  the  living 
God.  Later  on  some  women  with  tiny  feet  travelled 
some  twenty  miles  over  the  mountains  to  visit  me  in 
Ch'ing-chow  fu  to  inquire  about  the  same  object.  Years 
after  these  became  the  nucleus  of  a  Christian  Church  in 
those  mountains. 

3.  Disturbances  owing  to  Famine. 

On  the  ninth  day  of  the  fifth  moon  I  wrote  in  my 
diary  :  "  No  less  than  nineteen  cases  of  robbery  reported. 
Even  a  boy  of  twelve  stabbed  a  man  who  remonstrated 
against  his  robbing." 

At  the  end  of  May,  as  there  was  still  no  rain,  the 
people  became  very  alarmed  and  disorderly. 

A  band  of  women  marched  to  a  rich  man's  house, 
took  possession  of  it,  cooked  a  meal  there,  and  then 
marched  to  the  next  house  for  the  next  meal.  Men, 
seeing  the  success  of  this  plan,  organized  a  band  of 
five  hundred,  pillaging  from  village  to  village.  Hearing 
of  these  disorders,  the  Governor  of  the  Province  deprived 
the  Ch'ing-chow  fu  magistrate  and  prefect  of  their  buttons, 
and  sent  word  that  if  they  could  not  keep  order  they 
would  be  replaced  by  better  men.  Then  the  magistrate, 
driven  to  desperation,  had  men  beheaded  or  exposed 
in  wooden  cases  in  which  they  could  neither  stand  upright 
nor  sit,  and  died  slowly  of  starvation.  The  place 
of  execution  was  adjoining  my  back  court.  After  these 
terrible  punishments,  which  took  place  daily,  order  was 
restored  and  the  officials  regained  their  buttons. 

The    poor    people,    however,    if    not    robbed    by    their 


FAMINE   RELIEF  IN  SHANTUNG  99 

neighbours,  had  lo  endure  the  pangs  of  hunger.  Visiting 
a  village  on  the  tenth  day  of  the  fifth  moon,  I  found 
a  number  of  little  boys  carrying  baskets  full  of  thistles  and 
of  vegetables,  which  they  had  gathered  in  the  fields,  and 
some  leaves  they  had  stripped  from  the  trees.  They  sat 
down  under  a  tree  near  the  inn,  where  I  was  having 
some  cakes  for  my  midday  meal,  and  began  to  eat 
their  leaves.  1  asked  if  they  would  not  exchange  some 
of  their  food  for  mine.  They  were  overjoyed  to  get  ia. 
taste  of  flour.  I  noticed  one  of  them  with  a  very  red 
face,  so  swollen  that  his  eyes  were  almost  buried.  On 
asking  the  reason  of  his  swollen  face,  1  was  told  that 
he  had  eaten  the  leaves  of  the  "  hwai  "  tree,  which  to 
some  are  poisonous,  while  others  find  them  harmless. 

On  the  same  day  a  minor  military  officer  was  beheaded 
for  violent  robbery.  On  the  eleventh  day  of  the  fifth 
moon  a  young  man  of  thirty  was  put  in  a  cage.  Finding 
that  the  price  of  grain  was  so  high,  the  Governor  issued 
a  proclamation  that  the  officials  in  the  famine-stricken 
districts  were  to  remove  the  taxes  on  the  import  of 
grain  and  buy  grain  from  Kiangsu  and  Manchuria  in 
large  quantities  and  sell  it  to  the  people  under  cost  price, 
the   Government  bearing  the   expense   of  the  difference. 

1  had  an  interview  at  this  time  with  the  Prefect  of 
Ch'ing-chow  fu  and  suggested  that  the  Government  in 
Peking  should  be  memorialized  to  make  arrangements 
with  Korea  and  Japan  for  free  trade  in  cereals  and 
thus  lower  the  price. 

In  the  district  of  Lo-ngan  there  lived  a  man  named 
Chiu  who,  towards  the  end  of  the  Taiping  rebellion 
in  the  'sixties,  had  been  chosen  head  of  forty  villages  to 
resist  the  rebels.  These  villages  now  wanted  Chiu  to 
head  a  rebellion  against  the  Government,  as  the  people 
were  perishing  for  want  of  food.  He  refused  and  fled 
to  Ch'ing-chow  fu.  The  villagers  were  so  incensed 
at  his  action  that  they  went  to  his  house  and  killed  all 
his  family,  six  in  number. 

A  few  days  before  this  a  young  woman  of  about 
twenty  years  of  age  arrived  in  the  city,  carrying  her  baby, 
four  months  old,  and  sat  all  day  in  front  of  the  Yamen 


100  FORTY-FIVE   YEARS   IN  CHINA 

with  a  wisp  of  straw  round  the  child's  body  to  mark 
that  it  was  for  sale.  My  diary  of  that  time  furnishes 
the  following  particulars  : — 

June  T.'jth. — "  This  morning  another  woman  is  reported 
to  have  had  a  severe  struggle  with  herself  in  crossing 
a  river  on  the  way  to  the  city.  She  thought  that  if  she 
threw  her  child  into  the  river,  she  herself  might  survive. 
But  her  maternal  instinct  triumphed  and  she  brought  the 
baby  into  the  city  and  is  now  sitting  in  the  street  hoping 
some  one  will  have  pity  on  them  both." 

4.  Asked  to  Head  a  Rebellion. 

On  June  30th  two  scholars,  both  Sui-ts'ai  (B.A. 
degree)  men,  between  thirty  and  forty  years  of  age,  one 
from  Shiukwang,  the  other  from  the  north  of  Itu,  came  to 
see  me,  but  as  I  was  too  busy,  they  called  the  next 
day  by  appointment.  On  entering,  they  prostrated  them- 
selves and  asked  to  be  accepted  as  my  disciples.  After 
some  talk  I  discovered  they  were  a  deputation  from  a 
number  of  people  who  desired  me  to  head  a  rebellion 
as  the  authorities  were  not  providing  food  for  the 
perishing  people.  They  had  already  rented  a  house, 
and  a  large  number  of  men  were  ready  to  execute  my 
commands.  I  told  the  deputation  that  I  could  not  dream 
of  any  such  action,  as  it  vi^ould  only  increase  the  suffering 
of  the  people.  Once  begun,  no  one  knew  where  such  a 
revolt  would  end,  but  it  would  certainly  entail  great 
bloodshed.  1  advised  them  to  devise  constructive  instead 
of  destructive  methods  for  improving  the  condition  of 
the  people. 

July  2nd  {Sunday). — "  The  people  have  been  circulat- 
ing'reports  that  a  certain  chin-tze  (a  Doctor  of  Literature) 
had  risen  from  the  dead,  prophesying  that  this  year  one- 
third  of  the  people  will  die.  If  one  man  tells  it  to  ten, 
and  each  one  of  these  tells  the  news  to  other  ten,  who  will 
in  their  turn  inform  other  ten,  in  a  very  short  time  the 
whole  land  will  be  aware  of  their  danger,  I  took  advan- 
tage of  this  rumour  to  preach  on  the  attitude  of  Abraham 
towards  Sodom  and  that  of  Jonah  towards  Nineveh,  and 
exhorted  my  hearers  to  repent  of  their  sins  and  turn  to 


FAMINE   RELIEF  IN  SHANTUNG  101 

God,  so  that  He  might  have  pity  on  them.  The  mandarins 
do  not  realize  that  it  is  their  own  sin  of  ignorance 
which  causes  the  people  to  perish.  A  woman  stood 
at  my  door  and  seeing  my  landlord,  sat  down  exhausted 
with  her  baby  in  her  arms  and  asked  him  to  pluck  a 
few  leaves  from  a  tree  near  by.  He  did  so,  and  she 
ate  them  eagerly,  saying,  *  Now  I  feel  better,'  It  is 
most  pathetic  to  see  the  quiet  patience  on  the  pale  faces 
of  the  starving.  At  the  sight  of  so  much  distress  I 
could  not  help  but  distribute  something  in  relief  every 
few  days." 

5.  Methods  of  Distributing  Money. 

It  was  difficult  to  devise  a  satisfactory  way  of  giving 
money  to  all  and  at  the  same  time  ensuring  that  the 
same  applicant  did  not  return  for  more.  One  plan  which 
occurred  to  me  was  to  stand  at  the  end  of  a  long 
narrow  lane  in  the  poorest  quarter  of  the  city,  and 
have  the  applicants  pass  me  in  a  long  queue.  As  each 
was  given  a  small  dole  of  money,  I  marked  his  dirty 
palm  with  aniline  ink,  knowing  it  was  not  easily  rubbed 
off.  After  sufficient  time  had  elapsed  for  some  to  run 
round  to  the  other  end  of  the  lane  and  take  up  new 
positions  in  the  queue,  when  suspiciously  clean  palms  were 
proffered,  we  guessed  that  the  owners  must  have  received 
their  doles  before  and  had  vigorously  scoured  the  ink 
off.  We  therefore  continued  distributing  to  the  remaining 
few  who  had  dirty  palms. 

Another  man  attempted  to  give  relief  by  throwing 
cash  from  the  city  walls  to  the  poor  outside.  A  mere 
scramble   resulted. 

In  my  diary  I  find  also  these  two  sentences:  "  The 
Prefect,  who  ruled  eleven  counties,  memorialized  the 
Throne  to  report  that  seven  counties  were  suffering  from 
famine."  "  Mr.  Wang,  principal  of  the  prefectural 
college,  spent  two  days  in  praying  to  the  good  Ching 
Hwang  for  rain." 

At  the  beginning  of  July  a  report  came  that  in  a 
place  called  Yei  Yuen,  in  the  adjoining  county  of  Ling  Ku, 
a  man  who  possessed  five  hundred  mow  of  land  wished  to 


102  FORTY-FIVE   YEARS   IN   CHINA 

sell  his  property  so  as  to  get  money  for  food.  But  he 
could  get  no  higher  offer  than  two  dollars  and  a  half  a 
mow  for  it,  though  the  land  was  worth  from  fifty  to 
a  hundred  dollars  per  mow.  He  was  so  distressed  at 
this  low  price,  that  he  put  some  arsenic  in  the  food 
which  he  and  his  family  were  about  to  take,  and  they 
ended   their  troubles   by   dying   together. 

I  felt  that  I  could  not  desert  the  place  to  save  myself,  nor 
could  I  keep  any  money  while  the  poor,  to  whom  God  had 
sent  me,  were  starving.  But  there  was  a  great  difficulty 
attending  the  giving  of  any  private  relief.  For  example, 
the  owner  of  a  grain  shop  at  one  time  decided  to  give 
away  all  the  grain  in  his  possession.  Thousands  gathered, 
and  in  the  crush  for  dear  life  one  little  girl  was  killed 
and  people  were  trampled  on,  and  many  only  escaped 
with  broken  bones.  After  this  the  magistrate  issued 
a  proclamation  forbidding  any  private  distribution  again, 
and  the  starving  people  went  in  despair  about  the  streets. 

July  yd. — "  In  the  course  of  our  morning  worship 
I  read  the  passage  about  our  Lord  feeding  the  multi- 
tudes, where  He  made  them  sit  down.  ,Like  a  flash 
of  lightning,  the  secret  of  sitting  down  was  revealed. 
A  sitting  crowd  cannot  crush.  I  called  a  dozen  men  to 
bid  the  starving  crowd  go  to  a  large  threshing  floor 
opposite  my  house,  and  bid  them  sit  down  in  rows.  Men 
as  well  as  women  with  babies  in  their  arms  sat  down., 
I  appeared  and  told  them  that  I  had  very  little  money, 
but  that  all  I  had  I  would  gladly  give  if  they  would 
remain  sitting  quietly.  I  would  only  distribute  a  small 
sum  at  first,  and  then  a  second  and  a  third.  The  men 
commenced  their  distribution  and  not  a  soul  stirred  from 
his  place.  They  were  as  quiet  as  if  at  a  Communion 
Service.  The  magistrate's  Yamen  was  across  the  street, 
and  in  a  few  minutes  several  yamen  runners  and  one  or 
two  secretaries  looked  on  the  wonderfully  quiet  scene 
with  amazement.  When  the  last  cash  and  the  last  dole 
had  been  given,  I  told  them  that  I  had  no  more,  and 
that  even  the  Government  could  not  save  them,  unless 
there  came  heavy  rain.  For  that  we  must  pray  to  God. 
I   called  on  them  all   to  kneel  down  and   I   would  pray 


FAMINE   RELIEF  IN   SHANTUNG  103 

to  God  to  look  down  in  pity  on  them.  So  thousands 
of  poor  sufferers  received  the  little  help  with  gratitude  and 
joined   in    prayer   as    far    as    they    knew." 

6.   Second  Request  to  Head   Rebellion. 

On  the  evening  of  July  3rd  a  man  from  Feng  Hwang 
Tien,  about  eight  miles  east  of  Ch'ing-chow  fu,  called 
on  me  to  say  that  the  people  there  were  ready  to  rise 
in  rebellion  if  I  would  go  back  with  him  and  lead  them. 
I  replied  that  I  could  not  consider  such  an  action.  He 
continued  to  press  me,  and  I  was  becoming  very  uneasy 
about  the  dangerous  conversation,  when  a  carter  came 
in.  I  engaged  a  cart  from  him  to  start  for  Chi -nan  fu 
next  day,  and  told  my  visitor  that  on  arrival  there  I 
would  interview  the  Governor  and  try  to  induce  him 
to  render  more  service  to  the  people.  Before  the  man 
left,  my  boy  came  in  to  say  that  a  number  of  people 
had  gathered  outside  waiting  for  this  man  to  take  me 
with  him.  He  went  away  saying  he  would  visit  me 
again  on  my  return  from  Chi -nan  fu.  I  gave  him  a 
large  poster  which  I  had  been  distributing  through  the 
city  in  the  afternoon,  consisting  of  the  Lord's  Prayer 
with   explanations   and    exhortations. 

Owing  to  the  frequent  small  donations  I  was  distri- 
buting to  the  needy,  some  women  early  next  morning 
began  to  make  comparisons  between  my  attitude  and 
that  of  the  officials,  saying"  that  the  latter  cared  nothing 
for  the  poor.  Realizing  that  if  such  talk  were  continued 
the  officials  would  believe  any  reports  about  my  stirring 
rebellion,  I  decided  to  leave  the  city  at  once. 
Before  starting  I  paid  my  landlord  three  months'  rent 
in  advance.  The  monthly  rent  was  less  than  five 
Mexican  dollars. 

About  fifty  li  from  Ch'ing-chow  fu  1  discovered  a 
boy  of  about  eleven  years  of  age  sitting  on  the  back 
of  my  cart.  His  father  was  a  tailor  in  Ch'ing-chow 
fu,  who  had  a  brother,  also  a  tailor,  in  Chi -nan  fu,  to 
whom  the  boy  wished  to  go.  Fearing  that  mischievous 
people  might  circulate  rumours  that  I  had  kidnapped 
the  boy,  I  engaged  a  man  to  take  him  back  to  his  father. 


104  FORTY-FIVE   YEARS   IN   CHINA 

7.    Proposals   to   Governor  to   Avert   Future 

Famine. 

The  Governor  of  Chi -nan  fu  was  Ting  Pao  Ch'en,  a 
native  of  Kweichow.  On  July  7th  I  arrived  in  his  city 
and  had  an  interview  with  him.  He  was  a  strong  man, 
and  noted  as  having  been  one  of  the  leading  officials 
who  suppressed  the  Taiping  rebellion.  The  rebels  had 
already  got  possession  of  thirteen  of  the  eighteen 
provinces  of  China,  when  Ting  opposed  them  with  the 
troops  and  prevented  them  from  marching  on  to  Peking. 
I  suggested  to  him  that  arrangements  should  be  made 
to  import  grain  from  Korea  and  Japan  as  well  as  from 
Manchuria,  and  that  railways  and  mines  should  be 
opened  to  give  employment  to  the  poor.  He  listened 
very  sympathetically,  and  said  he  was  in  favour  of  such 
reforms  being  carried  out.  But  unfortunately  for 
Shantung,  he  was  soon  promoted  to  the  Viceroyalty 
of  Szechuen  and  had  no  further  opportunity  of  benefiting 
Shantung.  His  son,  Ting  T'i  Ch'angi,  I  met  afterwards 
as  Taotai  in  Shansi,  and  as  I  had  known  the  father, 
the  son  continued  friendly  to  me  in  Taiyuenfu.  He 
was  afterwards  promoted  to  be  one  of  the  leading 
provincial    mandarins    in    Canton. 

On  returning  to  Ch'ing-chow  fu  I  found  that  evil- 
minded  persons  had  spread  a  report  that  I  had  carried 
a  boy  off  to  Chi -nan  fu.  I  at  once  saw  the  tailor,  the 
boy's  father,  and  took  him  with  me  to  the  yamen,  where 
in  the  presence  of  the  magistrate's  men-shang  (secretary), 
and  other  clerks  of  the  Yamen,  besides  a  score  of 
underlings,  he  testified  that  his  son  had  run  from  home 
and  had  followed  my  cart,  but  that  I  had  sent  him 
back,  that  the  parents  were  most  grateful  for  my  action, 
and  that  the  boy  was  now  at  home. 

8.  Donations  from  Chefoo. 

On  the  eleventh  day  of  the  sixth  moon  I  took  a 
small  sum  that  had  been  collected  by  my  friend  Dr. 
Carmichael  in  Chefoo,  on  behalf  of  the  famine-stricken 
people,   and   gave   it   to   the   Chi-hsien    (city   magistrate) 


FAMINE  RELIEF  IN  SHANTUNG  105 

to  distribute,  saying  that  I  ihoped  he  would  not  despise  the 
smallness  of  the  gift.  He  seemed  very  pleased,  and 
said  he  would  let  the  people  know  from  whence  the 
money  came.  I  told  him  that  the  information  was 
unnecessary,  as  all  I  desired  was  that  some  of  the  poor 
should  be  rescued  from  starvation.  At  the  time  I  wrote: 
"  The  price  of  the  land  is  reduced  to  one-third  of 
what  it  was,  and  even  then  it  is  difficult  to  find  a 
purchaser.  People  sell  their  vessels  of  copper  and  zinc 
for  one-third  of  their  value.  The  pawnshops  in  the 
spring  gave  five  hundred  cash  for  clothing,  later  the  price 
was  reduced  to  four  hundred,  then  three  hundred,  and 
now  only  one  hundred  cash  is  given  for  the  same  articles. 
Indeed,  they  want  to  refuse  receiving  them,  but  the 
officials  will  not  permit  it,  so  the  things  are  exchanged 
at    only    nominal    prices, 

"  This  evening  two  men  were  beheaded  and  one  was 
put  in  the  cage." 

9.  Increase  of  Inquiries. 

Meanwhile,  not  only  were  the  small  posters  displayed 
directing  the  people  to  pray  to  God  for  rain,  but  the 
Christianized  sheet-tracts  were  circulating  far  and  wide, 
bringing  from  time  to  time  numbers  of  devout  persons 
to    Ch'ing-chow    fu    to    see    me   about    religion. 

The  knowledge  that  I  was  distributing  relief  to  the 
famine  sufferers  was  a  convincing  proof  to  the  multitude 
that  my  religion  was  good.  To  all  inquirers  I  gave 
the  catechism  and  hymn-books,  but  only  on  condition 
that  they  would  commit  them  to  memory.  On  returning 
to  their  homes,  they  would  talk  of  their  books  to  their 
neighbours,  with  the  result  that  in  a  number  of  centres 
there  were  many  inquirers.  Each  centre  in  time  became 
the  nucleus  of  a  Church.  When  the  leaders  had 
committed  the  catechism  and  hymn-book  to  memory, 
they   came   to   me   for   more   literature. 

By  this  time,  I  had,  as  I  have  already  noted,  translated 
part  of  Jeremy  Taylor's  "  Holy  Living."  The  first  part 
dealt  with  the  practice  of  the  Presence  of  God,  which 
induced  the  readers  to  turn  direct  to  God  for  His  inspira- 


106  FORTY-FIVE  YEARS  IN   CHINA 

tion  and  guidance,  instead  of  relying  solely  on  the 
foreign  missionary  for  teaching  and  advice.  I  also  made 
selections  from  the  Psalms  and  passages  of  the  New 
Testament  for  the  leaders  to  commit  to  memory,  so  as  to 
be  ahead  of  their  followers.  In  order  that  they  might 
learn  to  pray,  I  ordered  copies  of  the  Church  of  England 
prayers,  and  instructed  the  leaders  to  use  these  in  their 
worship    for   the   time   being. 

As  the  inquirers  increased  rapidly  in  number,  and  I 
was  the  only  foreign  missionary,  I  invited  the  leaders 
from  various  villages  far  and  near,  some  at  a  distance 
of  forty  miles,  to  come  on  stated  occasions  to  me  in 
Ch'ing-chow  fu  to  recite  their  passages  of  Scripture  and 
receive  further  instruction.  It  was  most  interesting  to 
note  the  effect  of  certain  portions  of  the  New  Testament 
on  the  inquirers.  Those  who  had  committed  Ephesians 
to  memory  all  became  strong  Calvinists,  sure  of  their 
election  to  do  g'reat  work  for  God.  Others  who  had 
committed  the  Gospel  according  to  John  to  memory 
became    lovable   mystics . 

The  largest  number  of  leaders  who  at  one  time  came 
to  stay  a  few  days  with  me  in  Ch'ing-chow  fu  was  sixty. 
I  gave  them  empty  rooms  to  lodge  in,  and  they  brought 
their  bedding  and  food.  Besides  this  gathering  of  men, 
I  had  another  meeting  of  women  leaders,  to  whom  I 
gave  instructions,  and  appointed  portions  to  be  committed 
to  memory.  In  every  centre  there  sprang  up 
spontaneously  Sunday  Schools  where  the  Christians  taught 
the  inquirers  themselves  and  heard  them  recite  the 
catechism  and  hymns,  and  where  they  met  for  worship 
together  ;  so  that  within  a  year  there  were  over  two 
thousand  inquirers  meeting  regularly  for  worship  at  some 
scores  of  centres,  north,   south,   east,  and  west. 

ID.  My  Mission  Policy  Adopted  by  Dr.  Nevius. 
Dr.  Nevius,  of  the  American  Presbyterian  Mission  in 
Chefoo,  used  to  make  two  long  evangelistic  tours  into  the 
interior  of  Shantung  every  year,  one  in  the  spring  and 
one  in  the  autumn.  Ch'ing-chow  fu,  eight  hundred 
li  from  Chefoo,  was  his  farthest  point,  and  he  generally 


FAMINE  RELIEF  IN  SHANTUNG  107 

stayed  there  with  me  for  a  day  or  two,  when  we  talked 
together  about  our  various  mission  methods. 

I  had  noticed  that  the  Chinese  had  a  method  of 
their  own  in  carrying  on  education  and  the  propagation 
of  their  religious  doctrines.  Their  societies  were  self- 
supporting  and  self-managing.  It  occurred  to  me  that 
the  best  way  to  make  Christianity  indigenous  was  to 
adopt  Chinese  methods  of  propagation.  The  main 
problem  was  to  present  Christianity  in  such  a  way  that 
it  would  commend  itself  to  the  conscience  of  the  Chinese 
as  superior  to  anything  they  themselves  possessed.  I 
had  already  commenced  this  kind  of  work,  with  the  result 
that  several  natives  volunteered  to  carry  on  Christian 
work  on  these  lines,  when  Dr.  Nevius  heard  of  it.  He 
visited  some  of  the  stations  with  me  to  see  the  result  of 
my  method,  and  was  so  greatly  struck  with  it  that  he 
decided  to  adopt  it  in  the  main  as  his  new  policy  of 
mission  work.  In  my  house  he  wrote  a  number  of 
pamphlets  and  regulations  to  develop  the  method,  and; 
copied  them  out  with  my  hectograph.  He  followed  this  ^ 
method  most  successfully  for  some  years,  and  afterwards 
wrote  a  series  of  articles  on  the  subject  which  first 
appeared  in  the  Chinese  Recorder,  and  were  then 
published  in  pamphlet  form.  This  pamphlet  was 
circulated  by  some  of  the  Mission  Boards  in  America 
and  England,  and  was  known  as  "Dr.  Nevius'  Missionary 
Method,"  a  method  by  which  the  natives  were  to  take 
the  lead  rather  than  the  foreign  missionary.  I  was 
considerably  interested  when  my  own  Missionary  Society 
reprinted  the  pamphlet,  and  sent  it  out  to  me,  not  knowing 
that  the  method  had  really  begun  with  me.  It  was 
only  when  the  fundamental  principle  underlying  it  was 
lost  sight  of  in  future  years  that  it  ceased  to  prosper. 

II.  Incidents  in  Famine  Relief. 
Having  explained  to  the  district  magistrate  that  I 
had  sufficient  funds  to  distribute  relief  to  some  of  the 
greater  sufferers,  it  was  my  custom,  before  distributing 
relief,  to  send  men  to  a  number  of  villages  to  take 
down  carefully  the  names  of  those  in  the  greatest  want, 


108  FORTY-FIVE   YEARS   IN  CHINA 

and  give  them  tickets  to  receive  relief.  A  day  was 
then  fixed  for  the  distribution,  when  all  ticket-holders 
were  to  come  to  a  central  spot.  On  one  occasion  this 
was  a  small  market  town.  When  we  arrived,  we  found 
between  double  and  treble  the  number  of  those  who 
had  received  tickets  assembled,  pleading  for  relief,  their 
mules,  donkeys,  and  cows  having  been  sold  or  eaten  up. 
If  we  gave  to  them  all,  the  relief  afforded  would  be  too 
small.  But  how  was  it  possible  to  give  only  to  those 
with  tickets  ?  The  crowd  at  the  gates  pressed  on  all 
sides.  We  tried  in  vain  to  reason  with  them.  Their 
sense  of  hunger   stifled  all   other   considerations. 

After  attempting  various  plans  for  about  two  hours, 
I  said  to  my  assistants  :  "I  will  go  outside  the  city, 
cross  the  river,  and  walk  up  the  hill  on  the  other  side. 
Those  who  have  no  tickets  will  probably  follow  me. 
When  we  are  a  good  distance  away,  then  you  can  begin 
distributing  to  those  whose  names  are  on  your  register." 

As  I  expected,  those  who  had  no  tickets  followed 
me  begging  for  alms.  I  walked  slowly  away,  so  that 
even  the  women  with  small  feet  could  keep  up  with 
me.  When  I  reached  the  top  of  the  hill  on  the  other 
side  of  the  river,  I  stopped,  and  the  people  began  to 
fall  on  their  knees  around  me,  imploring  me  for  money. 
I  then  told  them  a  parable  : — 

"  On  a  summer's  day  a  traveller,  who  had  become 
very  hot  and  thirsty,  begged  at  a  house  for  a  drink  of 
cold  water.  The  woman  of  the  house  gave  him  the 
little  water  that  she  had,  and  he  drank  it  all.  Before 
he  had  finished,  another  man,  in  like  manner,  very  thirsty 
and  warm,  came  in  and  clamoured  for  water.  The 
woman  replied,  *  I  have  no  more  in  the  house,  but 
if  you  wait  a  little  while^  I  will  go  to  the  well  and  fetch 
you  some  more.'  The  relief  money  in  hand  to-day 
is  only  a  small  supply,  and  only  sufficient  to  satisfy 
the  wants  of  those  who  have  tickets.  I  am  grieved 
that  you  are  in  such  dire  distress.  But  if  you  will  wait 
patiently,  I  will  write  to  the  foreigners  at  the  coast 
about  your  sufferings,  and  when  more  money  arrives 
I  will  gladly  distribute  it  to  you." 


FAMINE   RELIEF  IN   SHANTUNG  109 

At  this  an  elderly  woman  who  had  been  kneel- 
ing close  to  me  and  listening  very  attentively  suddenly 
rose  and  told  the  crowd  I  had  been  speaking  to  them 
in  a  parable.  She  repeated  my  words  and  explained 
my  meaning  very  clearly.  The  crowd,  instead  of 
becoming  angry,  began  to  disperse,  perfectly  satisfied 
with  the  explanation  and  the  reasonableness  of  my 
request.  Meanwhile  my  helpers  had  been  busy  in  the 
town.  I  did  not  go  back  at  once,  as  I  wished  to 
give  those  in  charge  of  the  distribution  ample  time  to 
finish  their  work.  When  I  did  return,  I  learned  that 
the  ticket -holders  had  been  admitted  by  one  gate  and 
had  left  by  another,  and  that  there  had  been  perfect 
order . 

12.  Subscriptions   from   Ports. 

In  the  early  summer  of  1876  I  had  written  to  my 
friend  the  Rev.  James  Thomas,  of  the  Union  Church  in 
Shanghai,  describing  the  distressing  conditions  in  Shan- 
tung, and  suggesting  that  my  account  should  be  pub- 
lished in  the  foreign  papers  in  Shanghai.  1  had  already 
gathered  orphans  together,  and  I  appealed  for  funds 
to  help  them,  pointing  out  that  four  dollars  would 
support  one  orphan  for  three  months,  while  four  hundred 
dollars  would  keep  a  hundred  orphans  for  that  time. 
Subscriptions  soon  began  to  come  in.  Mrs,  N.  P. 
Anderson  (then  Miss  Lai  Soon)  raised  two  hundred 
dollars,  and  forwarded  it  through  Mr.  Thomas.  The 
Chefoo  foreign  community  subscribed  five  hundred 
dollars,  and  the  Chinese  there  sent  two  hundred.  Relief 
committees  began  to  be  formed  in  the  various  ports, 
and  funds  were  forwarded  to  me  in  Ch'ing-chow  fu. 
With  this  money  1  was  able  to  establish  Orphanages 
of  a  hundred  boys  each  in  five  different  centres  and 
to  distribute   general  relief  to  the  sufifering. 

One  of  these  Orphanages  was  in  the  city  of  Ch'ing- 
chow  fu  itself,  in  a  house  with  large  grounds.  It  had 
been  long  vacant  because  it  was  rumoured  to  be 
haunted,  and  hence  no  one  would  venture  to  live  there. 
I  rented  it,  and  slept  in  it  the  first  night.  Two  teachers 
volunteered    to    pass    the    night    there    with    me.      How- 


110  FORTY-FIVE   YEARS   IN   CHINA 

ever,  there  were  such  weird  rustlings  and  scamperings 
during  the  night  that  the  men  fled,  thinking  the  evil 
spirits  were  about  to  descend  on  them.  Realizing  that 
the  noises  were  caused  by  rats,  I  went  to  sleep  again. 
The  next  morning  my  assistants,  seeing  that  no  harm 
had  befallen  me,  decided  to  remove  to  the  house.  Not 
having  a  staff  to  teach  the  orphans  any  new  trades  or 
industries,  we  had  to  fall  back  on  old  occupations,  so  that 
the  boys,  who  ranged  from  twelve  to  eighteen  years 
of  age,  could  earn  their  living.  They  were  taught 
smith -work,  carpentering,  silk -weaving,  cord-making.  I 
ordered  various  kinds  of  foreign  lathes,  small  ones  and 
powerful  hand  lathes,  with  the  necessary  tools  to  intro- 
duce a  new  kind  of  carpentering  to  the  orphans.  This 
involved  a  workshop  with  many  appliances,  which  I 
procured  in  a  modest  way. 

A  time-table  which  I  drew  up  for  my  use  in  Ch'ing- 
chow  fu  at  that  time  might  be  of  some  interest  to  my 
readers  : — 

7.30-8  a.m.  Breakfast. 

8-8.30  Worship. 

8.30-10  Translation  of  English  into  Chinese. 

10-12.30  Teaching  of  inquirers  or  preaching. 

12.30-2  p.m.  Overseeing  of  orphans,  teaching  Sol-fa  music,  etc. 

2-5  Translation  into  Chinese. 

5-7  Miscellaneous  work,  walk,  and  dinner. 

7-8  Church  history  in  English. 

8-8.20  Chinese  worship. 

8.20-9  "  Bacon's  Essays  "  and  Butler. 

g-io  Conversation  with  teachers. 

13.  Riot  at  Ch'ang  Lo. 

Famine  was  reported  to  be  very  severe  in  the  county 
of  Ch'ang  Lo,  adjoining  I  Tu  on  the  east.  In  dis- 
tributing relief  work  in  the  city  of  Ch'ang  Lo,,  I  narrowly 
escaped  with  my  life.  As  our  funds  were  limited  and 
we  could  only  make  arrangements  to  the  extent  of  the 
money  in  hand,  I  decided  first  to  relieve  the  Sui-ts'ais 
of  the  county  of  Ch'ang  Lo. 

These  graduates  are  sometimes  from  amongst  the  very 
poorest  ;    a   family    will   often    make   great   sacrifices    to 


FAMINE   RELIEF  IN  SHANTUNG  111 

educate  one  of  their  sons  so  as  to  gain  distinction  for 
their  name.  At  this  period  the  greatest  opponents  to 
Christianity  were  the  scholar  classes,  and  in  order  to  con- 
vince them  of  the  value  of  Christianity  by  practice  rather 
than  by  theory,  I  decided  to  make  a  grant  of  a  dollar 
each  to  all  the  Sui-ts'ais  of  Ch'ang  Lo. 

Later  on,  when  more  money  came  to  hand,  I  decided 
to  give  relief  to  some  of  the  most  distressed  villages, 
and  sent  men  to  draw  up  registers  of  the  poor  in  those 
villages.  After  they  were  made  and  a  day  appointed 
when  I  would  distribute  relief  to  the  villagers,  I  went 
to  the  city  of  Wei-hsien  and  exchanged  the  silver  I  had 
into  cash.  To  convey  it  all  I  had  three  large  carts,  each 
pulled  by  three  mules.  In  order  to  get  to  the  suffering 
villages   I  had  to  pass  through  the  city  of  Ch'ang  Lo. 

Now,  the  magistrate  of  Ch'ang  Lo,  to  whom  I  had 
no  time  to  explain  matters,  began  to  suspect  my  motives. 
He  thought  that  by  giving  relief  to  the  Sui-ts'ais  I 
had  been  bribing  the  leaders  of  the  county,  and  by 
now  offering  relief  to  the  neediest  villages  I  was  inciting 
the  people  to  rebellion.  So  when  he  beard  that  I  was 
bringing  three  large  cartloads  of  cash  through  the  city 
he  cried  :  "  What  does  this  foreigner  mean  by  coming 
and  meddling  with  our  affairs  ?  If  he  is  robbed  of 
his  money,  it  is  no  affair  of  mine."  The  people  took 
the  hint  and  prepared  to  act  on  it. 

I  arrived  in  the  south  suburb  of  the  city  at  noon, 
and  had  a  meal  in  an  inn  there.  When  I  had  finished 
I  ordered  the  carts  to  start  for  the  villages.  I  had 
scarcely  gone  twenty  yards  from  the  inn  before  a  large 
and  threatening  crowd  gathered  round  and  began  help- 
ing themselves  to  the  cash  from  the  carts.  Realizing 
the  seriousness  of  the  situation,  I  ordered  the  carters 
to  turn  round  and  go  back  into  the  inn.  There  I 
consulted  with  my  native  assistants,  who  said  it  was 
impossible  for  me  under  the  circumstances  to  arrive  at 
the  villages  to  distribute  relief,  as  they  were  several 
miles  away.  So  I  left  the  three  carts  at  the  inn  under 
the  charge  of  my  assistant,  and  rode  on  horseback  to 
the  central   village   to   explain   matters. 


112  FORTY-FIVE   YEARS   IN   CHINA 

II  was  far  from  easy.  There  were  some  thousands 
of  people  gathered  from  all  the  district  round  waiting 
patiently  for  relief  the  whole  day,  many  of  them  with 
children  in  their  arms.  I  did  not  know  but  that  the 
people  might  be  very  angry  with  me  and  do  me  violence. 
On  the  other  hand,  if  I  told  the  whole  truth,  that  it 
was  the  magistrate  who  had  prevented  my  bringing  the 
relief,  the  men  in  their  fury  might  have  marched  to 
the  city  and  made  it  dangerous  for  him.  I  consulted 
with  my  assistants  there,  and  decided  to  put  a  notice 
outside  the  door  to  say  that  owing  to  unforeseen  circum- 
stances I  regretted  1  was  unable  to  bring  relief  on 
that  day  as  I  had  promised,  but  that  I  advised  the 
people  to  return  to  their  respective  villages  as  soon  as 
possible,  lest  they  should  suffer  more  from  the  cold,  and 
that  two  or  three  elders  from  each  village  should  remain 
behind  and  I  would  arrange  with  them  how  to  send 
money  to  their  villages  at  an  early  date.  To  my  great 
relief,  within  ten  minutes  all  the  people  dispersed  in 
perfect  quietness,  and  I  fixed  a  day  when  the  elders 
should  come  to  Ch'ing-chow  fu,  where  1  would  give 
bills  to  them  for  the  distribution  of  relief  in  their 
respective  villages. 

The  next  day  I  returned  to  Ch'ang  Lo.  It  was  late 
in  the  afternoon  when  I  arrived  at  the  inn.  As  I 
approached  the  suburbs  of  the  city  people  rushed  out 
of  their  houses,  tied  up  their  belts,  as  they  always  do 
before  a  fight,  and  cried  out,  "  Lai-le  !  Lai-le  !  " 
("  He's  come  !      He's  come  !  ") 

I  inquired  of  my  assistants  how  they  had  passed  the 
night.  They  replied  that  they  had  never  spent  such 
a  dangerous  one  in  their  lives.  The  people  had  tried 
to  burst  open  the  door  of  the  inn,  and,  not  succeeding 
in  that,  they  had  thrown  showers  of  stones  and  bricks 
over  the  wall,  so  that  the  assistants  could  not  move  from 
one  to  another  without  risk  of  their  lives. 

Shortly  after  my  arrival  a  mihtary  officer  sent  in 
his  card,  wishing  to  see  me,  and  made  certain  sugges- 
tions to  me,  which  I  suspected  to  be  treacherous, 
and    then    departed.      The    crowd    outside    the    inn    was 


FAMINE   RELIEF   IN   SHANTUNG  113 

rapidly  increasing  and  growing  very  threatening.  In 
a  few  minutes  I  decided  what  to  do  to  avoid  the  mischief 
evidently  intended.  I  told  my  assistant  to  remain  in 
the  inn  in  charge  of  the  carts  for  twenty  minutes  longer, 
and  then  he  was  to  take  five  strings  of  cash  with  him 
and  leave  the  inn  and  the  carts  without  a  word  to 
anybody,  go  to  a  place  some  six  li  off  on  the  way 
to   Ch'ing-chow    fu,   and    wait    there   for    me. 

14.  Interview  with  Official. 

I  then  threw  open  the  gates  of  the  inn  and  walked 
rapidly  to  the  city  gate.  The  whole  crowd  followed 
after  me  with  a  great  rush.  I  entered  the  city  and 
made  straight  for  the  Yamen,  the  people  crying  out, 
"  He  is  going  to  the  Yamen  I  He  is  going  to  the 
Yamen  !  "  At  the  gate  I  met  one  of  the  magistrate's 
personal  servants,  whom  I  asked  if  the  official  was  in. 
He  tried  to  parley  with  me,  asking  my  business.  But 
I  had  no  time  to  talk  with  him,  so  I  brushed  him  aside 
and  went  straight  through  to  the  residential  part  of 
the  Yamen  and  entered  an  inner  room.  There  I  found 
the  military  officer  who  had  visited  me  talking  with 
one  whom  I  supposed  to  be  the  magistrate.  At  my 
sudden  appearance  both  of  them  were  startled  and  seemed 
afraid  that    I    would    be    violent. 

I  then  addressed  the  magistrate.  "  You  know  the 
circumstances  in  the  south  suburb,  where  the  carts  of 
cash  are  lying  at  the  inn.  I  told  my  servant  in  charge 
there  to  wait  twenty  minutes."  Here  I  pulled  out  my 
watch.  "  After  that  time  he  is  to  leave  without  a  word 
of  explanation  to  any  one.  Now,  as  there  are  hundreds 
of  people  already  crowded  about  the  inn  and  threatening 
violence,  I  inform  you  that  whatever  happens  after  my 
man  leaves  the  responsibility  of  it  will  rest  entirely  upon 
you.  There  is  ample  time  for  you  to  send  men  to 
the  inn  before  he  leaves  and  see  that  order  is  maintained 
and  the  carts  secured." 

"  Oh,  your  money  is  no  concern  of  mine  !  "  cried 
the  magistrate. 

"  But    the    peace    of    the    place    is    your    concern,"    I 

8 


114  FORTY-FIVE   YEARS   IN   CHINA 

replied.  "  I  have  merely  come  to  inform  you  so  that 
you  can  prevent  trouble."  With  that  I  left  him,  and 
walked   rapidly  through  the  courtyard  as  before. 

The  official  was  so  alarmed  that  he  sent  men  at  once 
to  the  inn,  and  my  man  was  able  to  put  the  carts 
into  their  charge. 

The  crowd,  seeing  me  come  out  of  the  Yamen,  cried 
out,  "  He  is  going  back  to  the  inn  !  "  With  that  they 
turned  round  and  rushed  ahead  of  me  as  fast  as  their 
legs  could  carry  them.  Coming  to  a  cross  street,  they 
all  turned  down  to  the  south  gate  ;  but  I  went  straight 
on  to  the  west  gate  through  a  part  of  the  city  that 
was  almost  empty. 

By  this  time  it  was  dark.  Outside  the  west  gate  I 
found  two  barrowmen  resting  and  eating  their  supper 
of  thick  wheat -cakes.  I  asked  where  they  were  bound 
for,  and  they  replied  for  Yao-kou.  That  was  in  the 
very  direction  I  was  going,  so  I  asked  them  to  take 
me  with  them.  They  were  only  too  glad  of  a  fare, 
and  I  mounted  the  barrow,  one  of  them  pulling  while 
the  other  pushed.  On  they  went  at  a  good  pace,  and 
I  was  thankful  to  be  at  last  rid  of  the  riotous  mob. 

But  we  had  not  gone  far  before  we  heard  loud, 
excited  voices  behind.  The  voices  came  nearer  and 
nearer,  and  when  we  reached  a  village  half  a  dozen 
men  overtook  us  and  laid  hold  of  me,  insisting  1  should 
go  back  to  the  inn  at  Ch'ang  Lo  and  distribute  the 
money  there  and  then. 

After  a  long  time  and  a  great  deal  of  difficulty  I 
persuaded  them  to  return.  The  people  of  the  village 
immediately  gathered  round,  and,  following  universal 
Chinese  custom,  1  appealed  to  a  third  party,  explained 
the  situation  to  the  elders  of  the  village,  and  asked 
them  what   I   should  do. 

15.  Pursuit  and  Rescue. 

The  presence  of  half  a  dozen  violent  men  made  their 
fear  stronger  than  their  sense  of  justice,  and  they 
advised  me  to  return   with  the  men. 

In  this   strait   I   asked  them  to  come  to  a  threshing- 


FAMINE   RELIEF  IN  SHANTUNG  115 

floor  near  by.  Then  I  appealed  to  the  self-interest 
of  the  six  men,  saying  :  "  If  1  go  back  with  you,  as 
soon  as  the  news  of  my  return  spreads  through  the 
city  there  will  be  thousands  of  men  coming  for  the 
cash,  and  the  crush  will  be  dreadful.  Many  will  be 
wounded  and  their  limbs  will  be  broken,  and  some  will 
be  killed.  Are  you  sure  that  your  own  friends  will 
not  be  amongst  the  sufferers,  or  even  yourselves  ?  I 
have  another  plan  to  suggest  to  you.  I  told  my  assistant 
to  meet  me  at  an  inn  a  few  li  ahead.  He  will  have 
five  thousand  cash  with  him.  If  you  go  with  me,  I 
will  divide  the  strings  of  cash  amongst  you,  and  you 
will  thus  get  your  money  without  any  danger  of  broken 
limbs.  Do  you  not  think  it  would  be  much  better  to 
come  with  me  ?  " 

One  of  the  six  men  cried  out,  "  Yes,  let  us  go  with 
him  I  "  and  they  told  me  to  mount  the  barrow,  and  off 
we  went,  up  hill  and  down  dale  and  across  streams 
at  a  great  pace.  Just  before  reaching  the  inn,  where 
the  lights  were  burning,  I  called  to  them  to  stop,  and 
said,  "  You  wait  here  and  I  will  go  on  to  the  inn  and 
fetch  the  money  for  you." 

I  brought  the  money  back  and  put  it  down  on  the 
ground  before  them.  One  of  the  men  said,  "  Is  this 
all  we  get  ?  " 

I  answered  :  "  This  is  all  I  possess.  I  have  not 
even  a  cash  left,  and  will  have  to  take  my  supper  on 
credit."  Then  I  took  off  my  jacket,  and  said,  "  If  you 
think  the  money  not  enough,  take  my  jacket  and  pawn  it." 

At  this  another  man  cried  out  to  the  first,  "  You 
ought  to  be  ashamed  of  yourself  to  ask  for  more  when 
he  has  given  us  all  !  "  With  that  they  thanked  me 
and  went  on  their  way  back,  while  I  returned  to  the 
nearest  inn  for  food. 

Before  I  had  finished  my  meal  a  most  wonderful 
and  grateful  scene  of  a  very  different  kind  began  to 
unfold  itself.  The  inhabitants  of  Yao-kou,  a  village 
about  five  miles  from  Ch'ang  Lo,  where  I  had  dis- 
tributed relief  in  the  earlier  part  of  the  year,  had  heard  that 
I  was  in  trouble  and  were  coming  to  my  rescue.     Some 


116  FORTY-FIVE   YEARS  IN   CHINA 

had  clubs,  some  had  pitchforks,  some  had  still  more 
dangerous  weapons,  while  others  were  riding  on  mules, 
carrying  lanterns.  Finding  that  I  was  safe  and  sound, 
they  made  me  ride  one  of  the  mules,  and  the  procession 
turned  round.  As  we  went  along  we  met  others  coming 
to  meet  us,  and  they,  in  turn,  faced  about  and  escorted 
me,  so  that  by  the  time  we  reached  Yao-kou  there 
was  a  large,  motley  procession,  full  of  joy  and  gladness. 
The  elders  of  the  village  had  not  been  idle.  They  had 
prepared  a  special  feast  in  a  big  pawnshop,  which  was 
the  chief  building  of  the  place,  and  at  midnight  we 
sat  down  to  celebrate  my  deliverance. 

The  following  day  I  returned  to  Ch'ing-chow  fu,  and 
called  upon  the  Prefect.  I  related  to  him  the  whole 
story  of  the  Ch'ang  Lo  magistrate's  mismanagement, 
and  explained  to  him  that  the  money  in  the  carts  was 
not  my  own,  but  had  been  subscribed  by  a  Relief  Com- 
mittee at  the  coast.  It  was  necessary  for  me  to  account 
for  the  money.  Would  he  be  good  enough  to  obtain 
a  receipt  for  it  from  the  Ch'ang  Lo  magistrate  ?  As 
for  the  money,  he  was  to  distribute  it  among  the  poor 
old  men  and  women  of  the  city.  The  Prefect  was  most 
obliging,  and  within  two  days  I  had  the  Ch'ang  Lo 
magistrate's  receipt  in   my  hands. 

But  the  unfortunate  man's  troubles  did  not  end  there. 
His  perversity  led  him  into  a  bad  scrape  with  the  city 
people. 

1 6.  Dishonest  Official  Threatened  by  Women. 

When  the  poor  of  the  city  heard  that  the  money 
was  to  be  distributed  among  them,  they  went  to  the 
magistrate  to  ask  for  it.  He  put  them  off  under  some 
pretext  or  other,  saying  he  would  distribute  it  later. 
They  went  again  a  second  time,  and  a  second  time  they 
were  refused.  Then  a  most  amusing  scene  took  place, 
showing  how  the  despotism  of  China  breaks  down  under 
democracy  and  is  powerless  before  the  rule  of  women. 

A  hundred  women  one  day,  each  carrying  her  kitchen 
cleaver  and  board,  went  to  the  Yamen  and  sat  down 
in    the    courtyard.     The    underlings    asked    them    their 


FAMINE   RELIEF  IN  SHANTUNG  117 

business.  They  said  they  wished  to  speak  to  the 
magistrate.  The  magistrate  felt  that  he  must  go  out 
and  hear  what  they  had  to  say.  As  soon  as  he  appeared 
one  of  the  women  chosen  as  spokesman  cried  out  :  "  The 
magistrate  who  steals  the  money  of  the  poor  instead  of 
giving  it  when  they  are  dying  of  starvation  deserves 
to  be  chopped  in  pieces  like  this  !  "  Then  the  hundred 
choppers  beat  a  refrain  on  the  boards,  and  all  the  women 
chanted  in  chorus,  "  He  who  steals  the  money  of  the 
poor  deserves  to  be  chopped  in  pieces  like  this  I  "  The 
official  now  realized  that  his  last  card  had  been  played, 
and  he  promised  to  distribute  the  money  the  following 
day  at  noon,  which  he  did. 

Immediately  after  this  1  wrote  a  letter  to  an  American 
in  China  summarizing  what  I  had  recently  seen  and  done, 
little  dreaming  I  would  ever  hear  of  it  again.  But 
it  was  sent  to  America,  where  it  was  published  in  one 
of  the  papers.  A  large  number  of  other  papers  copied 
it,  and  eventually  it  found  its  way  across  the  Atlantic 
to  England,  and  appeared  in  the  Saturday  Review  or 
the  Pali  Mall  Budget,  I  forget  which,  under  the  head- 
ing "  Missionary  Vagaries."  The  editor  omitted  to 
suggest,  however,  how  missionary  work  could  be  better 
conducted  under  the  circumstances. 

17.  Distress  in  Winter. 

In  the  autumn  of  1876  more  money  was  subscribed 
than  I  was  able  satisfactorily  to  distribute.  Dr.  Nevius, 
with  whom  I  had  made  a  geographical  division  of  the 
field,  found  that  within  his  district  there  was  a  great 
deal  of  suffering,  and  he  came  up  also  to  distribute 
famine  relief.  Simultaneously  with  the  work  of  famine 
relief  religious  services  were  conducted  at  many  centres 
every  Sunday,  and  thus  material  and  spiritual  relief  were 
afforded  hand  in  hand. 

As  the  winter  drew  near  the  distress  became  more 
acute.  Reports  came  in  of  villages  where  previously 
there  had  been  forty  inhabitants  reduced  to  ten  survivors. 
The  price  of  grain  rose  rapidly  to  three  and  four  times 
its    usual    rate.      Many    people,    hearing    that    grain    was 


118  FORTY-FIVE   YEARS   IN   CHINA 

cheap  in  Manchuria,  migrated  across  the  Gulf  of 
Pechihli.  Those  who  could  not  afford  to  travel  were 
forced  to  pull  down  their  houses  and  sell  every  inch 
of  woodwork  in  them,  whether  doors,  windows,  frames, 
or  rafters,  as  firewood,  and  so  get  money  to  buy  millet. 
When  this  source  of  revenue  was  exhausted,  they  took 
the  rotten  kao-liang  stalks  that  had  been  used  to  thatch 
the  roof  and  boiled  them  with  grass -seed  and  millet 
chaff"  to  try  and  keep  body  and  soul  together. 

In  order  to  keep  warm  in  the  depth  of  winter  the  poor 
wretches  dug  deep  pits  underground,  where  twenty,  thirty, 
and  even  fifty  persons  would  live  together.  Here  the 
vitiated  atmosphere,  as  well  as  the  lack  of  food,  caused 
a  large  number  of  deaths.  At  first  the  survivors  could 
not  afford  to  dig  a  separate  grave  for  each,  so  they 
made  two  large  holes,  one  for  men,  the  other  for  women, 
into  which  the  dead  were  thrown.  Afterwards  the  dead 
were  left  where  they  fell,  sometimes  in  their  homes, 
sometimes  in  the  villages,  sometimes  on  the  roads,  where 
they  were  devoured  by  wild  dogs,  wolves,  and  vultures. 

Hearing  of  this  terrible  state  of  affairs,  I  paid  a  visit 
to  the  worst  region,  and  found  owners  of  land  selling 
acres  for  a  dollar  or  two.  Husbands  and  wives  agreed 
to  separate  in  order  that  each  should  get  a  living.  I 
spent  one  night  in  a  village  inn  among  the  mountains 
south-east  of  Ch'ing-chow  fu,  where  a  market  for  the 
sale  of  women  was  going  on,  attended  by  men  who 
had  come  from  the  Far  East  to  buy.  1  slept  little 
that  night  because  of  the  great  commotion  and  distress. 
The  women  who  had  not  been  bought  were  imploring 
to  be  taken  away  anyhow,  even  for  nothing,  rather  than 
be  left  to  perish  of  starvation. 

Happily,  the  Chinese  Government  metes  out  rough 
justice  now  and  again.  The  following  year,  when  the 
great  distress  in  Shantung  had  passed  away,  the  Governor 
of  the  province  issued  a  proclamation  declaring  that 
all  sales  of  land  and  women  during  the  previous  year 
were  to  be  considered  null  and  void.  Consequently 
there  was  a  period  of  restitution,  a  veritable  jubilee 
for  many  families. 


FAMINE   RELIEF   IN   SHANTUNG  119 

1 8.  Distribution   of  Relief  with   Officials   and 

Gentry. 

After  reading  a  letter  I  had  sent  to  Chefoo  describing 
the  terrible  situation,  some  of  my  friends — Mr.  Fergus - 
son,  the  Dutch  Minister  ;  Mr.  George  Jamieson,  the 
British  Consul  at  Chefoo  ;  Mr.  Holwell,  of  the  Customs  ; 
and  the  community  doctor,  Dr.  Carmichael — met  together 
and  decided  to  send  it  to  the  Daily  News  in  Shanghai, 
while  Mr.  Holwell  translated  it  into  Chinese  for  pub- 
lication in  the  Shen  Pao.  Immediately  after  this,  Famine 
Relief  Committees  were  formed  in  every  part  of  China, 
from  Peking  to  Canton.  From  Shanghai  alone  I 
received  £ioo  for  relief.  The  city  magistrate,  a  Kiangsu 
man,  started  a  fund  in  his  own  province,  and  officials 
and  gentry  from  Kiangsu  came  to  assist  in  the  dis- 
tribution. 

To  avoid  overlapping  of  the  local  official  relief,  the 
Kiangsu  relief,  and  the  foreign  relief,  and  to  prevent 
any  possibility  of  the  people  discriminating  between  those 
who  gave  away  large  sums  and  those  who  gave  away 
smaller  sums,  which  might  cause  disturbances  among 
the  sulTerers,  1  consulted  with  the  Prefect  who  ruled 
the  eleven  counties,  and  the  magistrate  of  I  Tu  Hsien, 
the  chief  county,  as  to  the  best  way  of  organizing  relief 
distribution.  It  was  arranged  that  the  county  of  1  Tu 
should  be  divided  into  districts,  the  Kiangsu  gentry 
relieving  certain  villages  and  I  visiting  others,  while 
to  prevent  dissatisfaction  amongst  the  relief  recipients 
the  amount  distributed  to  each  was  to  be  the  same 
throughout. 

When  the  distributors  of  the  Kiangsu  relief  came, 
they  also  opened  an  Orphanage  in  the  city.  But  from 
the  beginning  their  efforts  in  this  direction  were  dogged 
with  misfortune.  An  epidemic  of  smallpox  carried  off 
a  large  number  of  their  orphans,  so  that  the  people 
feared  to  send  any  more  to  their  care,  declaring  that 
the  "  feng-shui  "  of  the  place  was  bad.  On  the  other 
hand,  not  a  single  child  in  our  Orphanage  suffered  any 
illness,  and  more  were  sent  to  us  than  we  were  able 
to  take  in. 


120  FORTY-FIVE   YEARS   IN   CHINA 

The  Governor  of  Shantung  memorialized  the  Throne 
on  behalf  of  the  seven  counties  vvhere  suffering  was 
greatest.  The  centre  of  the  worst  famine  was  the  county 
of  I  Tu,  where  Ch'ing-chow  fu  was  situated.  The  city 
magistrate,  a  Kiangsu  man,  did  his  best  for  the  people. 
He  induced  the  leading  gentry  to  subscribe  sums  for 
relief  in  addition  to  the  grants  made  by  the  Govern- 
ment, and  some  fifty  thousand  people  were  daily  given 
in  the  city  one  good  meal  of  gruel.  He  also  established 
similar  soup-kitchens  in  eight  other  centres. 

A  minor  Chinese  official  in  Nanking,  reading  a  report 
of  what  was  being  done  in  Shantung,  sent  me  a  hundred 
taels  (about  £30),  though  he  was  a  perfect  stranger 
to   me . 

I  cannot  leave  this  part  of  the  subject  without  yield- 
ing a  tribute  to  the  native  bankers  in  Shantung  with 
whom  I  had  to  deal.  The  bank  where  we  changed 
our  silver  was  an  unusually  large  pawnshop  in  Ch'ing- 
chow  fu  having  business  transactions  with  several 
counties.  When  we  wished  to  distribute  cash  at  any 
town  or  village,  all  that  was  necessary  was  to  hand 
the  silver  over  to  this  pawnshop  and  they  undertook 
the  safe  delivery  of  the  cash,  which  was  sent  in  batches 
of  ten  or  a  dozen  wheelbarrows  to  the  place  of  dis- 
tribution. They  never  failed  to  deliver  the  money 
promptly  and  safely,  and  because  they  were  grateful 
to  us  for  the  help  we  rendered  their  people  they  always 
gave  us   good  exchange  for  the  silver. 

19.  Arrival  of  Colleague,  Mr.  A.  G.  Jones. 

Before  the  end  of  November  1876,  Mr.  Alfred  G. 
Jones  arrived  in  Chefoo  as  my  new  colleague  in  the 
Baptist  Mission.  He  had  had  a  business  of  his  own 
at  New  Ross,  Ireland,  but  had  felt  a  personal  call  to 
the  mission -field  which  he  could  not  delegate  to  another. 
He  therefore  put  the  business  in  the  hands  of  his 
manager  and  came  to  China. 

I  went  to  Chefoo  to  meet  him.  He  arrived  on  a 
Saturday,  and  commenced  the  study  of  Chinese  on  the 
Monday.      During   one   of   our   walks   by   the   seashore   I 


RKV.    A.    G.    JONES. 


To  face  p.  120. 


FAMINE   RELIEF  IN   SHANTUNG  121 

well  remember  having  a  long  talk  with  him  about 
Edward  Irving's  famous  missionary  sermon.  He  drank 
in  the  spirit  of  that  address  as  the  dry  earth  absorbs  the 
rain.  But  suddenly  he  stopped  on  the  sands  and  cried, 
"  Stop,  stop  !  1  cannot  stand  any  more  I  "  He  was 
charged  to  the  full  with  that  spirit  of  devotion  and  self- 
sacrifice  which  never  left  him  so  long  as  he  lived. 

After  providing  him'  with  a  Chinese  teacher  and  spend- 
ing a  short  time  with  him  in  Chefoo,  I  returned  to 
Ch'ing-chow  fu,  where  he  volunteered  to  join  me  in 
March  1877  and  keep  the  accounts  of  the  famine 
funds. 

My  journey  back  to  Ch'ing-chow  fu  took  twelve  days 
because  of  the  snowdrifts. 

20.  Proposals  to  Local  Officials  to  avert  Famine. 

When  the  winter  was  over  and  the  spring  crops  began 
to  appear,  I  proposed  to  the  Prefect  and  city  magis- 
trate that  measures  should  be  adopted  to  avert  future 
famines.  I  asked  them  to  visit  my  Orphanages,  and 
proposed  that  if  the  authorities  granted  land  and 
houses,  and  bore  half  the  expenses  of  the  institutions,  I 
would  undertake  the  charge  of  them  and  establish  schools 
like  those  in  Peking,  Shanghai,  and  Foochow.  These 
schools  should  be  for  the  most  intelligent  of  the  orphans, 
where  the  pupils  would  be  taught  Western  learning  and 
English,  while  the  less  intelligent  of  the  orphans  would 
be  instructed  in  new  industries  so  as  to  avoid  increasing 
the  number  of  competitors  in  the  old  industries.  When 
the  orphans  had  completed  their  training,  they  would  be 
in  a  position  to  render  immense  service  to  their  fellow- 
countrymen.  I  urged  the  officials  to  bear  in  mind  that 
the  honour  paid  to  the  ancient  sages  of  China  was  due 
to  the  fact  that  they  devised  new  schemes  for  the  good 
of  the  people  :  Shin  Nung  introduced  agriculture  and 
Ts'ang  Kieh  invented  writing.  Therefore,  in  the  present 
age  of  international  intercourse,  the  mandarins  should 
adopt  new  methods  for  their  people's  welfare. 

My  hearers  were  not  ready  then  to  take  up  this  idea. 
But  nearly  twenty  years  later  a  son  of  this  city  magistrate, 


122  FORTY-FIVE   YEARS  IN  CHINA 

Hsi,  became  one  of  the  Reformers  in  Peking,  and  later, 
when  the  Empress-Dowager  took  up  the  reins  of  govern- 
ment and  set  her  face  against  Reform,  he  had  to  flee 
for  his  life.  It  was  only  after  the  suppression  of  the 
Boxer  rising  that  the  Chinese  Government  realized  the 
imperative  necessity  of  Western  learning,  and  ordered 
the  whole  Empire  to  adopt  it. 

2  1.  Church  Work. 

On  February  i  8,  1877,  1  preached  on  the  Parable  of  the 
Talents,  and  showed  that  we  had  to  trade  with  our 
Master's  gifts,  and  that  we  should  be  rewarded  according 
to  our  deeds. 

I  urged  my  hearers  that  in  addition  to  the  ordinary 
worship,  those  who  joined  the  Church  should  henceforth 
make  vows  as  to  the  particular  way  they  proposed  to 
serve  God  : — 

1.  By  subscribing  money  to  print  and  circulate  Christian  books. 

2.  By  devoting  a  certain  part  of  tlieir  time  to  preach  the  gospel. 

3.  By  visiting  and  healing  the  sick. 

4.  By  comforting  the  afflicted. 

5.  By  giving  alms  and  distributing  warm  clothes  in  winter  to  the 

deserving  poor. 

6.  By  rendering  help  in  burying  the  dead  of  the  poor. 

7.  By  distributing  medicines  gratis. 

8.  By  care  of  the  aged,  widows,  and  orphans. 

At  that  time  the  Old  Testament  had  not  been 
translated  into  Mandarin,  but  only  the  book  "  Line  Upon 
Line,"  which  gave  the  substance  of  it.  So  the  leaders 
of  the  Church  were  instructed  to-  use  "  Line  Upon  Line," 
and  in  this  way  they  became  familiar  with  the  Old 
Testament  heroes  and  saints.  I  also  projected  a  series 
of  addresses  on  the  answers  to  prayer,  for  children  by 
Abraham,  for  rain  by  Elijah,  for  life  to  the  dead  by  Elisha, 
for  protection  by  Daniel,  for  victory  by  Moses,  for  the 
cessation  of  pestilence  by  David,  and  other  instances. 

Old  women  of  sixty  and  seventy,  who  could  never  read  a 
word  before,  were  now  committing  our  books  to  memory, 
and  on  Sundays  travelled  as  many  as  ten  miles  on  their 


FAMINE   RELIEF  IN  SHANTUNG  123 

crippled  feet  to  attend  Christian  services.  One  of  the 
inquirers  led  the  representatives  of  thirty  villages  to  pray 
to  God  for  rain.  Another  time  a  woman  led  six  of 
her  neighbours  to  do  the  same,  and  it  is  my  joy  to 
record  the  fact  that,  despite  the  sneers  of  the  sceptics, 
rain  did  fall  in  both  instances. 

In  July  1877  I  drew  up  rules  for  Church  discipline, 
largely  after  the  manner  of  those  laid  down  in  Smith's 
"  Christian  Antiquities  "  : — 

1.  That  the  Chinese  Christians  should  set  apart  some  of  their  money 

for  the  support  of  widows  and  orphans,  the  unfortunate,  and 
the  sick. 

2.  That  patient  endurance  of  suffering  from  the  Christian  community 

as  well   as  from  the  non-Christians  be  considered   evidence 
of  Christian  love. 

3.  That  there  should  be  the  offering  of  talents  in  God's  service  as 

well  as  money. 

4.  That  the  Christians  should  aim  at  the  salvation  of  others  as  well 

as  themselves. 

5.  That  no  member  of  the  Church  should  go  to  law  without  having 

first  consulted  his  native  pastor. 

When  numbers  of  inquirers  came  to  learn  about  the 
Christian  religion,  I  got  them  to  organize  themselves 
into  bands.  The  men  chose  their  own  leaders  and  the 
women  elected  theirs.  Those  chosen  were  to  be  of  good 
report  and  peacemakers,  prepared  to  devote  much  of  their 
time  to  save  their  fellow-men  from  sin  and  lead  them 
to  God.  Prizes  were  given  for  the  best  Christian  tracts 
and  hymns.  Music  was  to  be  taught.  The  learners  were 
exhorted  to  be  hospitable  and  liberal  to  those  who  were 
spending  time  in  teaching  them. 

Among  the  religious  problems  I  had  to  contend  with  v 
was  the  superstition  of  feng-shui.  No  one  dared 
build  a  house,  or  put  up  a  fence,  or  dig  a  well,  without 
having  first  consulted  the  teachers  of  feng-shui.  It 
occurred  to  me  that  the  best  way  to  remove  this  super- 
stition was  to  teach  the  natural  sciences,  such  as  astron- 
omy, physics,  chemistry.  I  maintain  that  the  study  of 
science  ought  to  be  held  in  as  much  reverence  as  religion, 
for  it  deals  with  the  laws  of  God.     I  therefore  drafted  a 


124  FORTY-FIVE   YEARS   IN   CHINA 

scheme  for  a  series  of  science  textbooks  to  be  prepared 
for  the  Chinese. 

22.  Letter  to  the  Baptist  Missionary  Society. 

About  this  time  I  wrote  a  letter  to  the  Baptist  Mis- 
sionary Society,  calling  their  attention  to  the  great 
suffering  in  Shantung  and  pointing  out  that  God  was 
giving  the  English  Churches  a  rare  opportunity  of 
showing  to  the  Chinese  what  true  Christianity  meant,  a 
blessing  to  the  nation  as  a  whole  as  well  as  to  the 
individual.      China  could   be   helped  in   four   ways  : — 

1.  By  immediate  famine  relief. 

2.  By  teaching  the  people  the  true  principles  of  Christian  civilization, 

including  medicine,  chemistry,  mineralogy,  history. 

3.  By  the  introduction  of  new  industries. 

4.  By  the  teaching  of  spiritual  truths  and  the  relation  of  progress  to 

the  worship  of  the  true  God. 

I  appealed  to  the  Society  on  behalf  of  Mr.  Jones  and 
myself  for  £1,000  to  be  used  in  famine  relief,  in  putting 
the  Chinese  in  possession  of  right  principles  for  deliver- 
ance from  famine,  for  the  salvation  of  their  country,  and 
for  its  permanent  prosperity. 

I  ventured  to  point  out  to  them  that  if  they  compared 
the  expense  of  the  work  at  present  conducted  with  that 
of  the  work  in  the  past,  and  with  the  expenses  of  other 
societies,  English  or  American,  they  would  find  that  we 
were  the  most  economical,  and  could  make  the  best  use 
of  the  money.  ' 

It  is  with  great  pleasure  that  1  record  the  liberal 
spirit  of  the  Society,  shown  by  the  immediate  granting 
of  £500. 


CHAPTER    V 
FAMINE   RELIEF   IN  SHANSI 

I.  Decision  to  Distribute  Relief  in  Shansi. 

In  the  autumn  of  1877  news  reached  the  coast  of  a 
famine  in  Shansi,  far  greater  than  any  we  had  experienced 
in  Shantung.  Dr.  Muirhead,  of  the  London  Missionary 
Society,  wrote  at  the  request  of  the  Famine  ReUef 
Committee  in  Shanghai  that  they  were  pleased  at  the 
way  relief  had  been  distributed  in  Shantimg,  and  asked 
if  I  would   go  up   to  Shansi  and  distribute  relief  there. 

At  that  time  Alfred  Jones,  who  had  joined  our  Mission, 
as  I  have  recorded,  about  a  year  before,  had  moved  from 
Chef 00  to  Ch'ing-chow  fu  and  was  helping  me  with 
the  accounts,  at  which  he  was  an  expert.  On  receiving 
the  letter  from  Shanghai,  Mr.  Jones  and  I,  after  praying 
over  the  matter,  felt  convinced  it  was  a  direct  leading 
from  God  to  open  up  the  interior  of  China.  The  Chinese 
might  not  receive  written  evidences  of  the  truth  of 
Christianity,  but  help  rendered  to  them  in  distress  would 
afford  unanswerable  evidence  of  the  motives  of  religion. 

Mr.  Jones  was  willing,  with  the  help  of  our  pastor, 
Mr.  Ch'ing,  to  look  after  the  young  Church  in  Ch'ing- 
chow  fu  with  its  seven  hundred  members  and  between 
one  thousand  and  two  thousand  inquirers.  This  Pastor 
Ch'ing  was  one  of  the  finest  Christians  ever  foimd  in 
China,  and  as  a  colleague  was  equal  to  any  two 
or  three  average  foreign  missionaries.  Originally  he 
had  been  a  secretary  to  the  Taiping  rebels.  His  faith 
in  Christianity  never  failed,  and  during  his  life  he 
baptized     over     two     thousand     converts.        With     our 

Church  under  the   care   of   these  two,    I   felt   free,   with 

us 


126  FORTY-FIVE   YEARS  IN   CHINA 

my  seven  years'  practical  knowledge  of  the  Chinese  and 
my  recent  practical  experience  in  famine  relief  in 
Shantung,  to  proceed  to  Shansi  and  begin  Christian 
work  there.  At  the  close  of  our  prayer  and  talk  I 
was  so  profoundly  impressed  with  the  deep  feeling  that 
God  was  giving  us  an  opportunity  of  exercising  influence 
over  many  millions  of  people,  that  a  powerful  physical 
thrill  affected  me  so  that  I  could  hardly  walk  back 
across  the  courtyard  to  my  own  room. 

When  it  was  known  that  I  was  going  to  Shansi,  quite 
a  number  of  men  and  women  belonging  to  the  native 
Church  asked  to  go  with  me.  But  I  thought  it  best 
to  leave  them  in  Shantung  to  help  the  spread  of  the 
gospel  there.  I  started,  accompanied  only  by  a  Christiaji 
farmer  and  a  Christian  servant.  I  had  not  gone  more 
than  twenty  li,  when  I  noticed  a  strange  bimdle 
of  bedding  at  the  back  of  rny  cart.  I  asked  whose 
it  was.  My  servant  smiled,  and  at  first  would  not  tell 
me.  Then  I  discovered  that  it  belonged  to  one  of  our 
native  evangelists,  who  was  determined  to  go  with  me. 
It  was  with  great  reluctance  that  he  obeyed  me,  and 
went  back  to  continue  the  missionary,  work  only  just 
commenced  at    Ch'ing-chow   fu. 

2.  Journey  to  T'ai-yuan  fu. 

When  we  reached  the  mountains  it  was  difficult  to 
travel  in  carts  because  of  the  roughness  of  the  rocky 
Pjath,  so  I  rode  a  mule.  It  was  the  month  of  November. 
The  weather  was  bitterly  cold,  and  in  going  over  a 
mountain  pass  one  of  my  heels  got  frostbitten.  In 
these  mountainous  districts  the  inns  are  built  in  caves 
dug  out  of  the  loess  formation.  In  the  summer  these  are 
exceedingly  cool,  as  the  sun's  rays  do  not  pienetrate 
themi  ;  but  in  winter,  on  the  other  hand,  these  cave 
inns  are  very  warm,  and  when  there  was  fire  under 
the  k'ang  it  was  most  comforting  after  a  day's  ride  in 
the  intense  cold  to  reach  one  of  them. 

T'ai-yuan  fu,  the  capital  of  Shansi,  is  situated  at 
the  north  end  of  a  pjateau  extending  some  one  hundred 
miles   from   north    to    south  ;     about    thirty    miles   wide, 


FAMINE   RELIEF   IN   SHANSI  127 

and  about  three  thousand  feet  above  sea-level.  Ch'ing- 
chow  fu  in  Shantung,  which  I  had  left,  is  only  about  two 
hundred  feet  above  sea-level.  The  winter  in  Shansi 
therefore  was  far  severer.  Fortunately,  the  province  has 
abundant  coal,  both  anthracite  and  bituminous. 

I  arrived  in  T'ai-yuan  fu  with  only  a  small  sum 
of  about  two  thousand  taels  in  hand.  I  had  secured 
a  passport  from  Li  Hung-chang,  then  Viceroy  of  Chihli, 
in  case  there  should  be  opposition  to  my  travelling  so  far 
into  the  interior.  In  the  interval  we  began  to  see  some 
terrible  sights,  dead  bodies,  torn  by  dogs  and  wolves, 
lying  by  the  roadside.  These  dreadful  sights,  together 
with  the  terrible  cold,  such  as  they  had  not  experienced 
before,  quite  unnerved  my  two  companions.  Seeing  that 
their  hearts  had  turned  back  to  their  homes,  1  gave  them 
leave  to  go  back  to  Shantung.  On  their  return,  however, 
the  people  were  very  angry  with  them  for  abandoning 
me.  "  To  think  that  you,  being  Chinese,  and  accustomed 
to  the  climate  of  your  country,  should  leave  a  foreigner, 
unused  to  it,  to  face  all  the  cold  and  perils  and 
privation  alone  !  Shame  on  you  I  It  is  a  disgrace  I  "  they 
cried.  The  two  men,  for  very  shame  after  such  a 
reception,  determined  to  return  to  me  in  Shansi,  and  after 
many  weeks'  absence  rejoined  me  in  T'ai-yuan  fu. 

In  those  days  there  were  no  Protestant  missionaries 
living  in  the  province,  but  there  was  a  Roman  Catholic 
Bishop  and  about  a  dozen  priests  throughout  Shansi, 
carrying  on  work  that  had  been  at  first  commenced 
during  the  time  of  the  Jesuit  ascendance  in  Peking, 
more   than   two   hundred   years  before. 

3.  Interview  with  the  Governor  of  Shansi. 

The  Governor  of  Shansi  was  Tseng  Kwoh  Ch'uen, 
brother  of  the  famous  Tseng  Kwoh  Fan,  and  uncle  of 
Marquis  Tseng,  who  was  then  Chinese  Minister  in 
London.  I  called  upon  him  at  once  after  arrival  in 
order  to  make  the  reason  of  my  coming  clearly  under- 
stood. One  of  his  secretaries,  whom  I  had  to  see  firsts 
told  me  that  the  Governor  was  very  angry  at  my 
appearance  there.      Rebellions   in   China  frequently  took 


128  FORTY-FIVE   YEARS   IN   CHINA 

place  during  times  of  famine,  when  the  people  were 
dissatisfied  with  the  Government,  and  he  thought  I  was 
there  simply  to  steal  the  hearts  of  the  people  away 
from  the  Government.  Though  I  explained  to  the 
Governor,  when  I  saw  him,  that  I  had  come  to  distribute 
two  thousand  taels  to  the  famine -stricken,  and  showed 
my  passport,  still  he  was  not  pleased,  and  to  circumvent 
any  action  of  mine  and  plunge  me  into  difficulties  at 
the  outset  bethought   himself  of  an  ingenious   plan. 

His  brother,  Tseng  Kwoh  P^an,  the  most  eminent 
statesman  in  China  during  the  Taiping  rebellion,  had 
already  presented  his  views  on  Roman  Catholicism  and 
Protestantism  to  the  Government,  to  the  effect  that  these 
two  parties  hated  each  other  so  much  that  they  would 
counteract  each  other's  influence  and  thus  save  the 
Chinese  Government  any  aggressive  action  against  either. 
When  I  asked  the  Governor's  advice  as  to  how  I  should 
best  dispose  of  the  sums  I  might  in  future  receive  for 
famine  relief,  he  replied,  with  a  twinkle  in  his  eye  : 
"  There  is  a  Roman  Catholic  missionary  in  this  city  who 
applied  a  few  days  ago  for  some  grain  for  an  Orphanage 
in  his  charge.  You  had  bettef  hand  over  your  two 
thousand  taels  to  him." 

I  thanked  him  for  his  suggestion,  and  replied  that 
I  would  call  on  the  Bishop  to  discuss  the  matter  with 
him.  I  did  so,  telling  him  what  had  passed  in  my 
interview  with  the  Governor,  and  added  I  would  be 
quite  willing  to  hand  the  money  to  him  for  the  mainten- 
ance of  the  orphans,  on  condition  that  he  would  let 
one  of  my  men  co-operate  with  him  in  distributing  the 
relief,  as  the  money  was  not  my  own,  but  subscribed 
by  generous  friends  in  Shanghai  and  elsewhere.  The 
Bishop,  however,  would  not  for  a  moment  agree  to 
my  proposal.  I  told  him  I  would  have  to  report  on 
the  matter  to  the  Governor,  and  he  was  quite  willing 
for  me  to  do  so.  I  drew  up  a  report  of  our  interview, 
and  sent  a  copy  to  the  Bishop,  asking  if  he  considered 
it  a  true  account  of  the  interview.  He  returned  it 
saying  it  was  perfectly  correct.  I  then  sent  the  report 
to  the  Governor,  asking  him  at  the  same  time  for  another 


FAMINE  RELIEF  IN  SHANSI  129 

plan  of  distributing  relief  to  the  sufferers.  As  he  delayed, 
and  still  delayed  considering  the  matter^  I  took  advantage 
of  the  interval  to  visit  the  south  of  the  province,  where 
the  suffering  was  worst,  to  see  for  myself  the  extent  of 
the  distress. 


4.   Circulars  to  Roman  Catholics. 

Before  setting  out,  I  had  prepared  a  dozen  questions 
which  I  sent  to  the  Roman  Catholic  Bishop,  asking 
him  if  he  would  be  good  enough  to  forward  them  to 
his  priests  throughout  the  province,  and  return  them  to 
'me,  with  the  replies,  as  soon  as  possible.  These  questions 
were  about  the  average  price  of  grain  in  ordinary  years, 
and  the  price  at  famine  time,  the  percentage  of  people 
who  had  alreadiy  died  of  starvation,  the  percentage  of 
people  who  had  migrated  elsewhere,  the  proportion  of 
cattle  that  remained  uneaten,  and  the  proportion  of 
women   left. 

The  Bishop  gladly  acceded  to  my  request,  and  sent 
my  circular  to  various  of  his  priests  scattered  through' 
the  province,  and  by  the  time  I  returned  from  my  trip 
their  detailed  information  was  awaiting  me.  I  added 
a  summary  of  their  reports  to  a  diary  that  I  had  kept 
on  my  trip,  carefully  recounting  all  I  saw  and  heard, 
and  sent  it  to  friends  in  Shanghai. 

I  started  on  my  trip  with  a  servant,  as  it  was  not 
safe  to  travel  alone,  for  many  of  the  starving  had  become 
cannibals. 


5.  Extracts   from  my  Diary.     Shansi,    1878. 

January   28,    1878. 

Started  on  a  journey  south  through  the  centre  of  the 
province  to  discover  the  severity  of  the  famine.  I  rode 
on  a  mule,  and  had  a  servant  with  me,  also  on  a 
mule. 

Before  leaving  the  city  we  could  not  go  straight  to 
the  south  gate,  as  there  was  a  man  lying  in  the  street 

9 


130  FORTY-FIVE   YEARS  IN   CHINA 

about   to    die   of  starvation,   and   a   crowd   had   gathered 
round. 

January  2()th.   140  U  south. 

Passed  four  dead  men  on  the  road  and  another 
moving  on  his  hands  and  knees,  having  no  strength  to 
stand  up.  Met  a  funeral,  consisting  of  a  mother  carrying 
on  her  shoulder  a  dead  boy  of  ten  years  old.  She 
was  the  only  bearer,  priest,  and  mourner,  and  she  laid 
him  in  the  snow  outside  the  city  wall. 

Januarys  30M.   270  U  south. 

Passed  two  men  apparently  just  dead.  One  had  good 
clothes  on,  but  had  died  of  hunger.  A  few  li  farther 
there  was  a  man  of  about  forty  walking  in  front  of 
us,  with  unsteady  steps  like  a  drunken  man,  A  puff 
of  wind  blew  him  over  to  rise  no  more. 

January    ^'^th.    290  //  south. 

Saw  fourteen  dead  on  the  roadside.  One  had  only 
a  stocking  on.  His  corpse  was  being  dragged  by  a 
dog,  so  light  it  was.  Two  of  the  dead  were  women. 
They  had  had  a  burial,  but  it  had  consisted  only  in 
turning  the  faces  to  the  ground.  The  passers-by  had 
dealt  more  kindly  with  one,  for  they  had  left  her  her 
clothes.  A  third  corpse  was  a  feast  to  a  score  of 
screaming  crows  and  magpies.  There  were  fat  pheasants, 
rabbits,  foxes,  and  wolves,  but  men  and  women  had 
no  means  of  living.  One  old  man  beside  whom  I 
slowly  climbed  a  hill  said  most  pathetically  :  "  Our  mules 
and  donkeys  are  all  eaten  up.  Our  labourers  are  dead. 
What  crime  have  we  committed,  that  God  should  punish 
us  thus?  " 

In  the  midst  of  such  universal  suffering,  the  wonder 
was  that  there  was  no  robbery  of  the  rich.  But  to-day 
this  was  explained,  for  there  were  notices  put  up  in 
the  villages  saying  that  by  order  of  the  Governor,  if  any 
persons  attempted  robbery  and  violence,  the  head-men 
of  the  town  or  village  were  empowered  to  put  the  robbers 


FAMINE   RELIEF  IN  SHANSI  131 

to  death  at  once.  The  result  was  a  wonderful  absence 
of  crime.  The  only  tears  I  saw  shed  by  the  patient 
sufferers    were    those   of   the    mother    burying    her    boy. 

February   \st.  450  li  south. 

Saw  six  dead  bodies  in  half  a  day,  and  four  of  them 
were  women  :  one  in  an  open  shed,  naked  but  for  a  string 
round  her  waist  ;  another  in  a  stream ;  one  in  the  water, 
half  exposed  above  the  ice  at  the  mercy  of  wild  dogs  ; 
another  half  clad  in  rags  in  one  of  the  open  caves  at 
the  roadside  ;  another  half  eaten,  torn  by  birds  and 
beasts  of  prey.  Met  two  youths  of  about  eighteen  years 
of  age,  tottering  on  their  feet,  and  leaning  on  sticks 
as  if  ninety  years  of  age.  Met  another  young  man 
carrying  his  mother  on  his  shoulders  as  her  strength 
had  failed.  Seeing  me  looking  at  them  closely,  the 
young  man  begged  for  help.  This  is  the  only  one  who 
has    begged    since    I    left   T'ai-yuan    fu. 

Saw  men  grinding  soft  stones,  somewhat  like  those 
from  which  stone  pencils  are  made,  into  powder,  which 
was  sold  for  from  two  to  three  cash  per  catty  (i^  lb.)  to 
be  mixed  with  any  g'rain,  or  grass  seed,  or  roots  and 
made  into  cakes.  I  tried  some  of  these  cakes,  and 
they  tasted  like  what  most  of  them  were — clay.  Many 
died   of   constipation    in   consequence  of   eating  them. 

Three  brothers  who  were  colliers  died  one  after  the 
other,  the  first  twenty  days  ago.  For  burial  he  was 
placed  in  two  large  jars,  one  enclosing  the  upper  part 
of  the  body,  the  other  the  lower.  Seven  days  later 
another  brother  died,  but  there  were  no  more  jars,  and 
the  corpse  was  left  on  the  floor.  The  third  brother 
was  so  weak  that  when  I  gave  him  some  money  to 
help  bury  the  dead,  he  could  not  leave  his  k'ang.  Soon 
a  number  who  heard  of  my  relief  came  to  me  to  say 
that  they  had  unburied  dead  in  every  house. 

Saw  another  woman  trying  to  rise.  She  had  had 
strength  to  lift  one  leg,  but  no  strength  to  stand  up. 
Farther  on  I  saw  two  heads  in  one  cage,  a  warning 
to   those   who   would  attempt   violence. 


132  FORTY-FIVE   YEARS   IN  CHINA 

February   2nd.    530  //  south. 

At  the  next  city  was  the  most  awful  sight  I  ever 
saw.  It  was  early  in  the  morning  when  I  approached 
the  city  gate.  On  one  side  of  it  was  a  pile  of  naked 
dead  men,  heaped  on  top  of  each  other  as  though  they 
were  pigs  in  a  slaughter-house.  On  the  other  side  of 
the  gate  was  a  similar  heap  of  dead  women,  their 
clothing  having  been  taken  away  to  pawn  for  food. 
Carts  were  there  to  take  the  corpses  away  to  two  great 
pits,  into  one  of  which  they  threw  the  men,  and  into 
the  other  the  women. 

Outside  the  north  gate  of  Hengtung  there  were  three 
dead,  a  boy  and,  apparently,  his  father  and  grandfather, 
side  by  side.  Snow  had  fallen  the  night  before.  On  the 
snow  there  were  the  marks  of  what  had  been  a  struggle 
between  two  men,  and  blood  was  mingled  with  the  snow 
— a  sign  that  it  was  not  safe  to  travel  alone,  althougTi 
there  were  two  human  heads  hung  in  cages  on  two 
separate  trees  as  a  warning  to  evildoers.  For  many 
miles  in  this  district  the  trees  were  all  white,  stripped 
clean  for  ten  or  twenty  feet  high  of  their  bark,  which 
was  being  used  for  food.  We  passed  many  houses 
without  doors  and  window-frames,  which  had  been  sold 
as  firewood.  Inside  were  kitchen  utensils  left  untouched 
only  because  they  could  not  be  turned  into  money.  The 
owners  had  gone  away  and  died, 

February  yd.  600  //  south. 

Saw  only  seven  persons  to-day,  but  no  woman  among 
them.  This  was  explained  by  meeting  carts  daily  full 
of  women  being  taken  away  for  sale.  There  were 
travellers  on  foot  also,  all  carrying  weapons  of  defence, 
even  children  in  their  teens,  some  with  spears,  some 
with  bright,  gleaming  swords,  others  with  rusty  knives, 
proofs  of  their  terrible  pUght.  We  did  not  feel  very 
safe  in  their  midst, 

February    J\th.    630   //  south. 

Stopped  at  Siang  Liu,     Met  forty  carts  from  Pu  Chow 


FAMINE   RELIEF  IN   SHANSI  133 

fu  going  north  for  grain.  Here  were  straw  effigies 
of  men  on  one  side  of  the  street.  On  the  opfK)site, 
side  of  the  street  were  written  two  big  characters, 
"  Poor  people,"  mute  appeals  to  all  who  passed  by. 
Heard  stories  at  the  inn  that  night  of  parents  exchanging 
their  children  as  they  could  not  eat  their  own,  that  men 
dared  not  go  to  the  pits  for  coal  as  mules,  donkeys, 
and    their    owners    were   liable   to    be   killed   and   eaten. 

Having  gone  so  far,  and  seeing  such  terrible  sights, 
I  decided  to  return  to  T'ai-yuan  fu,  as  I  had  sufficient 
proofs  of  the  horrors  of  famine  to  move  even  hearts 
of  stone. 

Even  the  wolves  were  becoming  fearless.  Seeing  a 
wolf  by  the  roadside  one  day,  I  yelled  at  him,  expecting 
him  to  flee  in  terror.  On  the  contrary,  he  stood  and 
stared  at  me,  as  if  wondering  at  my  boldness  in  facing 
him. 

Returning  along  the  same  road,  we  had  a  daily 
repetition  of  the  same  ghastly  sights,  until  I  sometimes 
wondered  whether  the  scenes  were  not  the  imagination 
of  a  disordered  mind. 

The  many  refugees  I  met  coming  from  Pu  Chow 
fu,  the  extreme  south  of  the  province,  had  the  same 
tale  to  tell.  When  I  asked  them  the  percentage  of 
dead  and  of  those  who  had  migrated,  in  no  instance  did 
they  say  that  less  than  fifty  had  disappeared.  In  many 
places  only  twenty  or  thirty  remained.  I  heard  from 
other  eye-witnesses  that  they  had  seen  270  dead  on  the 
roadside  in  three  days.  In  every  city  there  were 
carts  going  about,  carrying  some  thirty  or  forty 
daily,  to  be  buried  in  pits. 

Small  wonder  that  I  began  to  doubt  my  senses  or 
my  sanity,  amid  such  scenes  of  horror.  Was  I  among" 
the  living  or  among  the  tormented  dead  ?  Terrible  as 
the  suffering  was,  we  did  not  dare  to  give  any  relief 
except  surreptitiously  ;  for  once  it  was  known  that  we 
gave  relief,  we  would  have  been  surrounded  by  such 
crowds  that  progress  would  have  been  impossible,  and 
our  lives  would  have  been  endang'ered,  perhaps  lost, 
without  any  good  to  the  people,  while  by  our  safe  return 


134  FORTY-FIVE   YEARS   IN  CHINA 

and    subsequent    appeals    many    of   their    lives   would    be 
saved . 

At  the  end  of  fourteen  days  we  were  back  in  T'ai-yuan 
fu,  and  thankful  we  were  for  a  respite  from'  the  awful 
sights  which  we  had  seen  from  day  to  day  on  our  travels. 

6.  Difficulties  of  Transport. 

The  distance  from  Tientsin  to  Pu  Chow  fu  in  the 
south  of  Shansi  was  eight  hundred  miles.  Grain  was 
being  transported  at  Government  expense  all  this  distance. 
That  meant  that  there  was  no  grain  nearer,  and  that  the 
minimum  of  the  famine  radius  was  eighty  miles.  Private 
persons  could  not  engage  mules  to  carry  grain,  as  the 
animals  were  all  eaten.  The  roads  over  the  mountains 
were  inconceivably  bad,  so  that  a  team  of  six  or  seven 
mules  found  it  difficult  to  take  more  than  about  half  a  ton 
weight  over   them. 

Again,  the  roads  were  so  narrow  in  the  mountain 
passes  that  carts  and  camels  could  not  pass  each  other 
without  enormous  delay.  To  obviate  this  difficulty,  it 
was  arranged  that  all  the  camels,  of  which  there  were 
droves  of  a  hundred  together,  should  travel  at  night, 
and   only   carts  and   mules   by   day. 

Hearing  of  this  difficulty  of  transporting  grain  from 
the  coast,  I  carried  with  me  a  pocket  aneroid  and  took 
observations  of  the  elevations  and  depressions  along  the 
road,  and  after  arriving  in  T'ai-yuan  fu,  I  made  a  map 
of  the  road  with  a  diagram  of  these  elevations  and 
depressions. 

That  winter,  too,  was  the  coldest  for  years.  The 
Yellow  River  was  frozen  so  that  carts  could  cross 
over  the  ice,  an  event  which  had  not  happened  beforie 
for  over  thirty  years. 

When  the  Great  Famine  during  1S76-9  was  over, 
the  greatest  on  record  in  history,  during  which  half 
the  eighteen  provinces  of  China  suffered  more  or  less, 
there  can  be  no  doubt  that  between  fifteen  and  twenty 
millions  of  people  had  perished — a  number  equal  to  the 
population  of  a  whole  European  kingdom.  These 
millions   could   have  been   saved  if  the   Chinese  officials 


FAMINE   RELIEF  IN   SHANSI  135 

had  not  been  so  full  of  pride,  saying  that  they  alone 
were  civilized,  that  they  had  nothing  to  learn  from  the 
barbarians  from  the  West.  One  mandarin  actually  issued 
a  proclamation  forbidding  emigration  to  Manchuria, 
where  grain  was  so  much  cheaper,  and  this  at  a  time 
when  land  could  be  sold  for  only  a  tenth  of  its  value. 
Some  of  the  officials  in  the  neighbouring  provinces 
actually  forbade  export  of  grain  to  Shansi,  and  thus 
aggravated    the    famine    conditions. 

On  my  return  to  T'ai-yuan  fu  I  sent  my  diary,  together 
with  the  replies  I  had  received  from  the  Roman  Catholic 
priests,  down  to  Shanghai,  via  Tientsin,  by  special 
messenger. 

7.    C.I.M.   Missionaries,  James   and  Turner. 

Meanwhile,  God  had  raised  up  other  Christian  helpers 
for  China  in  her  great  need.  Messrs.  Turner  and  James, 
of  the  China  Inland  Mission,  had  arrived  in  Shansi  in 
the  early  part  of  1877,  and  had  preached  and  distri- 
buted Scriptures  and  tracts  throughout  the  summer  and 
autumn  to  the  famine-stricken  people.  But  both  of  them 
caught  famine  fever,  and  Mr.  James  was  so  weakened 
by  it  that  he  was  obliged  to  leave,  and  Mr.  Turner  had 
to  accompany  the  sick  man  to  the  coast.  They  left  T'ai- 
yuan  fu  in  November,  just  two  days  before  my  arrival 
there.  Their  reports  of  the  awful  distress  awakened 
much  sympathy. 

Further,  the  Rev.  Arnold  Foster,  of  the  London 
Mission  in  Hankow,  had  gone  to  Tientsin  to  make  inquiries 
about  the  state  of  suffering  in  Shansi.  After  travelUng 
across  Chihli  and  a  day  or  two  inside  the  province 
of  Shansi,  he  saw  enough  with  his  own  eyes  to  cause 
him  to  decide  to  go  to  England  as  soon  as  possible, 
and  there  raise  money  for  famine  relief.  He  too  left 
Shansi  just  two  days  before  I  entered  it.  When  he 
arrived  in  England  the  British  Minister  for  China,  Sir 
Thomas  Wade,  was  in  London,  and  Mr.  Foster  laid  the 
matter  before  him,  asking  that  a  Relief  Fund  should 
be  opened  in  England.  But  the  public  wished  fuller 
details  of  the  extent  of  the  famine.     My  journal  and  the 


136  FORTY-FIVE   YEARS   IN   CHINA 

report  from  the  Roman  Catholic  priests  were  sent  on 
from  Shanghai  to  London,  and  arrived  just  at  the  time 
when  details  were  needed  of  the  terrible  suffering  in 
Shansi. 

8.  Co-operation  with   Chinese   Officials   in 
Relief. 

Having  sent  away  my  information,  I  was  now  at 
liberty  to  give  relief  where  it  was  needed  as  the  money 
came  in.  But  the  Governor  still  delayed  in  answering 
me.  As  I  felt  I  was  not  justified  in  keeping  the  money 
in  hand  while  such  numbers  were  starving  to  death, 
I  sent  word  to  him  that,  having  waited  so  long  without 
receiving  any  definite  plan  from  him,  I  proposed  to  dis- 
tribute relief  in  some  of  the  most  needy  villages  within 
five  days.  This  move  on  my  part  brought  him  to  action. 
He  at  once  sent  the  city  magistrate  with  assistant  magis- 
trates to  confer  with  me.  They  had  registers  of  all 
the  families  in  the  villaiges,  and  were  distributing  relief 
at  so  much  per  family.  They  proposed  to  set  apart 
some  of  the  villages  for  me  to  relieve,  and  would  send 
officials  and  gentry  to  help  me  to  accomplish  the  work 
without  disturbance.  I  replied  that  I  was  perfectly  satis- 
fied. Thus  relief  was  begun  with  complete  understanding 
with  the  Chinese  officials,  and  continued  so  to  the  end. 

The  Government  arranged  for  distribution  of  gruel 
in  the  cities  and  chief  market  towns.  In  T'ai-yuan 
fu  there  was  a  place  where  twenty  thousand  went  daily, 
for  a  pot  of  millet  gruel.  In  the  country  villages 
registers  of  those  who  were  to  receive  relief  were  drawn 
up,  and  a  hundred  cash  per  month  per  individual  was 
given,  or  three  cash  per  day.  At  that  time  twenty 
cash  were  equal  to  the  English  penny. 

9.   Proposals  to  Governor. 

It  was  fortunate  that  Tseng  Kwoh  Ch'uen,  who  had 
been  a  military  commander,  was  Governor  of  Shansi  at 
that  time,  for  the  situation  demanded  drastic  measures. 
He  issued  strict  orders,  as   I  have  already   said,  that  if 


FAMINE  RELIEF  IN  SHAN8I  137 

any  of  the  people  attempted  violence  or  robbery  the 
magistrates  of  the  towns  and  leaders  of  the  villages 
should  execute  them  without  consulting  him.  Having 
found  that  one  of  the  officials  had  appropriated  famine 
relief  funds  for  his  own  private  ends,  he  ordered 
his  instant  execution,  a  summary  act  which  struck  terror 
into  the  hearts  of  the  rest.  In  this  way  he  saved  the 
officials  from  corruption  and  the  villages  from  disorder. 
Shortly  after  my  return  to  T'ai-yuan  fu  I  recom- 
mended three  measures  to  the  Governor  : — 

1.  Emigration  on  a  large  scale  to  Manchuria  and  other  places  where 

cheap  grain  was  to  be  got. 

2.  The   commencement  of  public  works,  such   as  railways,  which, 

besides  giving  immediate  occupation  to  people  who  had  to 
earn  a  living,  would  be  of  permanent  value,  preventing 
famine  in  future. 

3.  A  famine  relief  tax  to  be  imposed  on  the  provinces  not  suffering 

from  famine. 

A  number  of  the  leading  expectant  tao-tais  discussed 
my  scheme  by  order  of  the  Governor,  and  concluded  that 
while  a  railway  would  be  advantageous  to  the  people,  the 
number  of  foreigners  that  it  would  be  necessary  to  engage 
would  be  so  considerable  as  to  form  a  constant  source 
of  trouble.  Therefore  in  the  best  interest  of  the  province 
if  would  not  be  well  to  build  a  railway. 

10.  Suggestion  to  B.M.S. 

About  this  time,  January  26,  1878,  I  wrote  to  our 
secretary,  Mr.  A.  H.  Baynes,  pointing  out  that  when 
the  first  high  officials  from  China  visited  England  and 
America  they  were  shown  theatres  and  places  of  amuse- 
ment, but  were  never  taken  to  see  any  churches  or  listen 
to  preachers.  I  therefore  begged  him  to  devise  means 
by  which  the  best  Christian  gentry  in  England  should 
take  special  interest  in  the  new  Chinese  Ambassador 
Kwoh,  the  highest  Chinese  official  who  had  ever  been 
sent  as  Ambassador  to  England,  and  let  him  see  the 
best  of  our  Western  civilization,  so  that  he  might  under- 


138  FORTY-FIVE   YEARS  IN   CHINA 

stand  the  benefits  conferred  by  Christian  missionaries 
on  civilization  from  the  earliest  times  to  the  present. 
It  would  be  a  great  spiritual  work  done  by  friends  at 
home,  which  would  be  reported  by  the  Ambassador  to 
the  Central  Government  in  Peking,  and  would  be  of 
immense  service  to  the  Mission  cause  in  China.  I  asked 
Mr.  Baynes,  if  the  idea  commended  itself  to  his  judg- 
ment, to  make  the  suggestion  to  other  missionary 
societies. 

Not  only  did  I  try  to  persuade  the  Christian  gentry 
at  home  to  work  through  the  Chinese  Ambassador  in 
London,  but  I  wrote  a  pamphlet  for  the  leading  Chinese 
gentry,  pointing  out  how  their  ancient  sages  of  China 
used  to  blame  the  Emperors  for  any  public  calamity 
that  befell  the  Empire,  but  that  in  the  present  time  it 
was  a  common  remark  of  all  officials  that  the  famine 
could  not  be  averted  because  it  was  the  will  of  Heaven, 
meaning  thereby  that  they  could  do  nothing  in  the  matter. 
But  famines  could  be  averted  if  the  officials  bestirred 
themselves  to  do  their  duty  and  learn  how  other  coun- 
tries were  preventing  famines.  The  pride  of  the  Con- 
fucianist,  the  idleness  of  the  Buddhist  priests,  the 
superstitions  of  the  Taoist  priests  and  feng-shui  teachers 
were  actual  sins  which  brought  on  such  a  state 
of  affairs  that  millions  were  perishing.  Many  plans 
had  been  discussed  for  famine  relief,  but  the  best  was 
united  action  on  the  part  of  East  and  West.  I  appealed, 
therefore,  that  the  best  Chinese  and  foreigners  should 
meet  together  and  co-operate  for  the  good  of  China. 

1 1 .  Letter  to  Protestant  Missions  Proposing 
Organization  and  Co-operation. 

On  February  7,  1878,  I  wrote  a  letter  to  the 
Protestant  Missions  in  China,  pointing  out  that  our 
missionary  efforts  were  very  inefficient  for  want  of 
proper  organization  and  co-operation.  Each  Mission 
worked  independently  and  often  with  opposition  schools, 
opposition  hospitals,  and  evangelistic  methods  over- 
lapping each  other  in  the  same  districts,  while  there 
were    vast    tracts     without    any     workers.      "  The    mis- 


FAMINE   RELIEF  IN  SHANSI  139 

sionaries  seem   like   ships   sailing  on  the   ocean   without 
chart  or  compass,   without  captain  or  mate." 

But  there  was  no  response  in  those  days.  The  mis- 
sionary body  were  not  ready  for  co-operation.  It  was 
only  thirty  years  later,  at  the  Centenary  Conference  of 
1907,  that  the  matter  was  brought  forward  as  worthy 
of  serious  consideration. 

12.  Arrival  of  Hill,  Turner,  and  Whiting,  and 
Death  of  Whiting. 

By  the  first  steamer  after  the  opening  of  the  river 
at  Tientsin  in  March,  1878,  there  arrived  for  famine 
relief  work  David  Hill,  of  the  Wesleyan  Mission  ;  Albert 
Whiting,  of  the  American  Presbyterian  Mission  ;  and 
Joshua  Turner,  of  the  China  Inland  Mission,  with  a 
large  supply  of  silver,  about  thirty  thousand  taels,  from 
the  Famine  Relief  Committee  in  Shanghai.  Some  of 
their  friends  had  much  anxiety  about  them  on  account 
of  the  terribly  infectious  famine  fever,  which  had  carried 
away  some  of  the  best  missionaries  in  Tientsin.  But 
these  three  were  prepared  to  face  the  consequences. 
They  could  not  have  money  in  their  hands  without  them- 
selves going  to  distribute  it  to  their  dying  brethren, 
whatever  the  risk  might  be.  On  arriving  at  T'ai-yuan 
fu  Mr.  Whiting  fell  a  victim  to  fever,  and  died  on 
April    25th. 

13.  Distribution   of   Mansion   House   Famine 
Relief  Fund.     1878. 

By  this  time  the  diary  of  my  tour  in  Shansi  had 
reached  London.  It  so  enforced  the  appeals  of  the  Rev. 
Arnold  Foster  that  Sir  Thomas  Wade  and  the  Arch- 
bishop of  Canterbury,  in  conjunction  with  the  Lord 
Mayor,  opened  a  Famine  Relief  Fund  at  the  Mansion 
House.  The  money  subscribed  was  transmitted  by  cable 
to  Shanghai.  But  as  there  were  no  telegraphs  in  China 
then,  the  silver  was  shipped  in  ingots  of  fifty  taels  each, 
and  packed  in  boxes  of  one  or  two  thousand.  These 
boxes  of  silver  were  forwarded  from  the  coast  by  Li 
Hung-chang,    who    sent    military    officials,    with    escorts 


140  FORTY-FIVE   YEARS  IN   CHINA 

of  soldiers,  in  charg^e  of  the  money  to  'me  in  T'ai-yuan 
fu.  So  ignorant  was  one  of  these  officials  about 
foreigners  that  on  delivering  the  silver  he  addressed  me 
all  the  time  as  Kwei-tze  Ta  Ren  (His  Excellency  the 
Devil),  I  refrained  from  correcting  him  lest  he  should 
be  confounded  with  shame  in  my  presence. 

When  more  money  for  relief  arrived,  we  found  that 
the  suffering  in  Ping  Yang  fu  was  greater  than  that 
about  T'ai-yuan  fu,  so  we  went  with  officials,  appointed 
by  the  Governor,  to  that  prefecture  and  worked  at  dis- 
tribution there  for  several  months. 

In  the  prefecture  of  Ping  Yang  fu  and  the  counties 
of  Ling  Fen  Heng  Tung  and  Wen-Hsi  we  distributed 
relief  in  145  villages,  with  populations  ranging  from  63 
to   1,267.     The  average  number  in  each  family  was  3*1. 

One  of  the  Government  relief  agents  told  me  that  in 
the  county  of  Hung  Tung  Hsien  there  had  been  a  popu- 
lation of  250,000,  of  whom  150,000  had  died.  The 
extent  of  the  suffering  was  not  only  seen  in  the  reduc- 
tion of  the  population,  but  also  in  the  disappearance 
of  beasts,  mules,  and  donkeys.  For  instance,  in  a  village 
of  320  persons,  possessing  a  good  deal  of  land  to  be 
cultivated,  there  were  only  three  !  beasts  remaining,  the 
others  having  been   eaten. 

The  officials  and  people  prayed  to  every  god  said  to 
be  efficacious  for  rain,  but  in  vain.  In  their  dire  ex- 
tremity they  had  heard  that  in  a  certain  well  in  the 
province  of  Chihli  there  was  an  iron  tablet  possessing 
wonderful  properties.  Consequently  the  Governor,  Tseng 
Kwoh  Chuen,  sent  to  Chihli  to  borrow  the  tablet  so 
that  it  might  be  used  in  the  prayers  for  rain.  The 
Roman  Catholics  and  Protestants  in  their  respective 
churches  also  continued  their  prayers  for  rain,  till  finally 
there  was  a  great  downpour  over  the  whole  province, 
and  the  people  were  grateful  beyond  measure,  each  part 
believing  in  the  efficacy  of  the  same  gods  as  before. 

14.  Arrival  of  C.l.M.  Ladies. 

Having  found  that,  instead  of  meeting  with  hostility, 
we  were  received  in  a  friendly  manner  by  the  officials 


FAMINE   RELIEF  IN  SHANSI  141 

and  were  welcomed  by  the  poor  sufferers,  we  felt  that 
the  way  was  being  opened  for  larger  opportunities  of 
service.  I  wrote  to  the  China  Inland  Mission,  describing 
the  situation  and  inviting  them  to  send  more  workers. 
We  were  much  cheered  to  hear  that  Mrs.  Taylor  was 
coming  out  from  England  to  commence  work  amongst 
the  orphan  children  of  Shansi.  She  was  escorted  from 
Tientsin  by  Mr.  Bailer,  and  arrived  in  T'ai-yuan  fu  in 
October  1878,  bringing  Miss  Home  and  Miss  Crickney 
with  her.  These  were  the  first  ladies  to  travel  so  far 
inland.  They  occupied  my  house  while  I  was  away 
during  the  autumn.  They  were  soon  followed  by  Mr. 
and  Mrs.  James,  also  of  the  China  Inland  Mission. 

15.  Marriage  to  Miss  Martin. 

I  had  come  to  the  conclusion  that  I  could  do  more 
effective  Mission  work  in  this  newly  opened  province  if 
I  were  married.  I  had  previously  met  in  Chef 00  an 
accomplished  lady  of  the  United  Presbyterian  Mission, 
Miss  Martin,  who  had  come  out  in  1878.  From  the 
first  she  was  asked  to  lead  in  every  undertaking.  Besides 
having  had  much  experience  in  education  in  the  Merchant 
Company  School  in  Edinburgh,  she  had  been  well  trained 
in  theology  under  Dr.  Peddie,  and  could  more  than  hold 
her  own  in  discussion  with  such  a  theologian  as  Gilmour 
of  Mongolia.  She  was  also  gifted  in  music,  and  always 
led  in  the  musical  part  of  religious  services.  We  were 
married  in  Chef 00  in  October  1878,  and  returned  to 
T'ai-yuan  fu  in  November.  Mrs.  Taylor,  the  two  single 
ladies,  and  Mr.  Bailer  continued  to  Uve  in  our  house 
until  they  were  able  to  rent  one  of  their  own.  My 
wife  started  an  Orphanage  for  boys,  while  the  C.I.M. 
ladies  took  orphan  girls  under  their  care. 

16.  Famine  Relief  During  Winter. 
But  as  the  winter  came  on  and  many  were  again 
suffering  I  obeyed  the  call  of  duty,  and  left  my  wife 
a  month  after  our  marriage,  and  worked  for  four  months 
with  my  colleagues  in  Ping  Yang  fu.  There  Canon 
(now  Bishop)   Scott  and  Mr.  Capel,  of  the  S.P.G.,  who 


142  FORTY-FIVE  YEARS  IN   CHINA 

were  old  friends  of  mine  in  Chefoo,  were  also  dis- 
tributing relief,  at  first  from  a  separate  fund,  but  later 
co-operating  with  us  in  distributing  the  Mansion  House 
Relief  Fund. 

The  total  amount  of  money  raised  in  the  ports  and 
in  England  was  about  Tls.  200,000,  or  £60,000,  of 
which  Tls.  120,000  were  distributed  by  Hill,  Turner, 
and  myself,  the  rest  being  distributed  in  two  sections, 
one  by  Taotai  Sheng,  of  Tientsin  (now  Sheng  Kung 
Pao),  assisted  by  Mr.  Budd,  then  of  the  Customs  staff, 
and  the  other  part  by  other  Protestant  missionaries  in 
Chihli  and  Roman   Catholics  in   North  China. 

We  had  not  sufficient  helpers  to  import  grain  and 
distribute  it.  Nor  were  there  in  that  small  district 
sufficient  bankers  to  exchange  our  silver  into  cash.  We 
therefore  decided  to  give  each  family  a  certain  weight 
of  silver,  some  two  or  three  ounces,  which  they  could 
exchange  into  cash  wherever  they  liked  and  buy  grain 
to  mix  with  their  grass -seeds  and  husks.  The  process 
was  not  easy.  We  had  reg'isters  of  all  the  villagers 
who  were  to  come  to  one  centre  for  relief.  For  some 
days  before  the  distribution  we  had  a  number  of  black- 
smiths working  in  a  courtyard,  carefully  watched.  The 
ingots  of  silver  of  fifty  taels  each  (sixty -six  English 
ounces)  were  put  in  the  fire,  and  when  heated  red  hot 
were  hammered  into  thin  slabs  and  then  cut  into  pieces 
of  about  one  inch  square  and  a  quarter  of  an  inch 
thick. 

The  currency  question  in  China  seems  to  destroy  the 
solid  foundations  of  mathematics.  In  one  place  eighty - 
two  cash  were  counted  equivalent  to  one  hundred.  In 
another  fifty  cash  represented  one  hundred,  whilst  else- 
where sixteen  cash  were  equivalent  to  a  hundred.  In 
Peking  ten  cash  represented  a  hundred.  The  exchange 
from  silver  into  cash  was  also  full  of  anomaly.  Some- 
times a  Chinese  ounce  of  silver  was  exchanged  for 
fifteen  hundred  cash,  at  other  times  only  a  thousand 
cash  could  be  obtained  for  it.  To  make  the  problem 
still  more  bewildering  the  weights  of  silver  varied  in 
different    districts.      In    Ping    Yang    fu    the    catty    con- 


FAMINE   RELIEF  IN   SHANSI  143 

tained  sixteen  ounces,  while  in  the  villages  outside  it 
contained  twenty  ounces. 

On  asking  the  origin  of  some  of  these  extraordinary 
reckonings  I  was  told  how  the  eighty -two  cash  came 
to  represent  one  hundred.  A  bright  official  once  thought 
he  had  discovered  a  secret  in  coinage  by  which  the 
wealth  of  the  Empire  could  be  immensely  increased. 
He  ordered  that  in  every  hundred  cash  eighteen  were 
to  be  made  of  iron.  In  process  of  time,  however,  the 
eighteen  iron  cash  became  so  rusty  that  the  people  could 
not  use  them,  so  they  said,  "  Give  us  the  eighty -two 
and  we  will  count  them  as  a  hundred."  Ever  after 
they  counted  the  eighty -two  copper  cash  as  equivalent 
to  a  hundred. 

After  working  together  at  Fen  Sui  Hsien,  Canon  Scott 
and  I  parted,  he  to  go  home  to  be  consecrated  Bishop 
and  I  to  finish  the  relief  work.  At  last  I  became  ill 
with  dysentery  from  fatigue  and  exposure  to  the  sun, 
and  had  to  be  carried  on  a  litter  to  Ping  Yang  fu. 
After  recovery  there  I  returned  to  T'ai-yuan  fu  to  begin 
more  regular  and  settled  Mission  work,  in  which  my 
dear  wife  always  took  a  leading  part. 

17.  Gratitude   of   Chinese   for   Foreign   Relief. 

When  famine  relief  was  over  in  Shantung  the  people 
in  the  districts  where  Dr.  Nevius  had  worked  presented 
him  with  a  Wan-wan  san  inscribed  with  ten  thousand 
names  of  grateful  people.  This  is  a  red  umbrella, 
which  is  usually  carried  in  front  of  Government  officials, 
high  and  low,  in  China  and  other  places  in  the  Orient 
in  token  of  respect.  I  was  told  that  the  people  who 
had  received  famine  relief  in  my  district  intended  to 
show  their  gratitude  in  the  same  way.  But  I  sent  word 
protesting  against  their  doing  any  such  thing,  as  it 
entailed  using  some  of  the  relief  money. 

The  people  in  Shansi  showed  their  gratitude  in  various 
and  contrary  ways.  The  scholars  in  Ping  Yang  fu, 
who  were  absolutely  perverted  in  their  judgment  by  the 
traditional  Government  attitude  towards  foreigners,  set 
up  a  stone  tablet  recording  the  help  we  had  rendered, 


144  FORTY-FIVE   YEARS   IN  CHINA 

concluding  with  the  words  :  *'  What  beneficence  and 
grace  does  this  display  on  the  part  of  his  august  Majesty 
the  Emperor  of  China,  that  men  should  come  from  the 
ends  of  the  earth  to  succour  and  aid  his  people."  On 
the  other  hand,  a  deputation  of  grateful  people  came 
to  Hill,  Turner,  and  myself,  and  asked  for  our  photo- 
graphs so  that  they  might  set  them  up  in  their  temples 
as  a  perpetual  monument  of  their  gratitude.  When  I 
left  in  1878  for  Shantung  to  get  married.  Governor 
Tseng  sent  me  a  very  flattering  letter,  in  which  he  not 
only  thanked  me  in  his  own  name,  but  in  the  name 
of  the  thousands  of  people  of  Shansi  whom  I  had  helped 
to  save  from  starvation.  This  letter  I  destroyed  for 
fear  I  might  be  tempted  at  some  future  time  to  make 
an  improper  use  of  it.  Still,  when  memorials  were 
sent  by  the  Governor  Tseng  and  ex -Governor  Yen  of 
Shantung,  co -commissioner  with  him  in  famine  relief, 
asking  honours  by  way  of  tablets  or  buttons  of  various 
grades  to  be  conferred  on  those  who  had  helped  in 
relief  work,  the  names  of  the  foreigners  who  had  brought 
the  largest  relief  and  had  risked  their  lives  for  two  years 
in  the  midst  of  raging  typhus  fever  did  not  appear  in 
the  list.  However,  official  rank  was  offered  to  us  by  Li 
Hung-chang,  who  had  been  approached  by  the  Secretary 
of  the  Relief  Committee  in  Shanghai  without  consulting 
any  of  us,  but  it  was  respectfully  declined. 

18.  Roman  Catholic  Books  in  Chinese. 

Looking  forward  to  Mission  work  after  the  famine 
relief  was  over,  I  sent  to  Shanghai  to  get  a  comtplete 
set  of  the  Roman  Catholic  Chinese  books,  so  that  we 
might  have  a  set  in  Shansi  as  well  as  in  Shantung, 
and  I  also  procured  from  Peking  a  complete  set  of 
the  Greek  Church  books  in  Chinese.  The  early  Jesuits 
in  China,  more  than  two  centuries  before,  had  written 
Christian  books  which  had  brought  them  converts  from 
amongst  the  highest  circles  in  the  land,  and  also  a 
large  number  of  followers  from  among  the  masses.  On 
examining  them  1  found  that  if  the  parts  that  were 
Popish   and   Roman    were    omitted   the    Christian   teach- 


FAMINE  RELIEF  IN  SHANSI  145 

ing"  was  most  excellent  and  could  be  used  with  great 
advantage.  I  had  previously  ordered  the  Breviary, 
translated  into  English  by  the  Marquis  of  Bute,  the 
"  Lives  of  the  Saints,"  and  some  of  the  standard  works 
in  Roman  Catholicism,  so  as  to  be  in  possession  of  the 
two  opposite  points  of  view  of  the  controversy  between 
Romanism  and  Protestantism.  At  that  time  there  were 
very  few  Protestant  books  for  distribution.  The  chief 
were  Dr.  Faber's  '*  Western  Civilization  "  and  "  Com- 
mentary on  Mark,"  Dr.  Williamson's  "  Natural 
Theology,"  Allen's  "  Statesmen's  Year  Book,"  Dr. 
Martin's  "  Christian  Evidences  "  and  "  Allegories,"  and 
a  tract  called  "  The  Mirror  of  Conscience  "  by  a 
Chinese  convert.  Outside  these  we  had  no  suitable 
books    for   presenting   to    intelligent    Chinese. 

19.  Lack  of  Organization  in  Protestant  Mission 

Work. 

My  friends  and  I  often  talked  of  the  want  of 
organization  of  Protestant  Missions,  and  in  discussing 
various  plans  thought  that  we  might  with  advantage 
follow  the  Romanist  policy,  who  have  Franciscans  at 
work  in  one  part  of  China,  Jesuits  in  another, 
Lazarists  in  another,  apportioning  a  different  part  of 
the  field  to  each  other.  Different  Protestant  denomina- 
tions might  occupy  different  parts  of  the  Empire,  instead 
of  fragments  of  each  in  the  same  parts. 

Another  plan  we  discussed  was  for  the  existing 
denominations  to  drop  their  denominational  name  and 
form  united  Chinese  Churches  in  the  various  provinces. 
But  financial  difficulties  stood  in  the  way  of  redistribu- 
tion of  denominations,  and  want  of  Christian  charity 
made  it  impossible  at  that  time  for  the  denominations 
to  unite.  It  is  only  after  thirty  years  that  we  have 
begun  to  form  Union  colleges  and  hospitals. 

One  evening,  when  HiU,  Turner,  and  1  were  sitting 
at  a  Chinese  meal,  David  Hill  told  us  that  after  preach- 
ing for  a  number  of  years  without  the  great  success 
he  expected  to  see  he  had  restudied  the  New  Testament, 
and  discovered  that  instead  of  emphasizing  the  Kingdom 

10 


146  FORTY-FIVE   YEARS   IN   CHINA 

of  God  on  earth,  as  our  Lord  did,  he  had  been  preaching 
another  doctrine,  and  from  that  time  he  began  to  be 
more  scriptural  and  less  theological.  He  had  discovered 
a  gospel  in  the  New  Testament  which  made  Chinese  as 
well  as  Europeans  glad — the  gospel  of  the  Kingdom 
of  God  wherein  dwelleth  righteousness,  peace  on  earth, 
goodwill  to  men.  We  had  come  to  China  not  to  con- 
demn, but  to  save  ;  not  to  destroy,  but  to  fulfil  ;  not 
to  sadden,  but  to  gladden. 

On  hearing  this  I  rose  from  the  table,  walked  into 
my  bedroom,  and  brought  out  a  notebook  in  which  I 
had  written  out  my  experiences.  I  read  out  my  con- 
clusions, which  were  precisely  the  same  as  Hill's.  At 
which  we  had  a  hearty  laugh. 

20.  Missionary  Tracts  Alienating  Non- 
Christians. 

In  those  days  there  were  two  kinds  of  missionary 
tracts  in  circulation,  one  attacking  idolatry,  the  other 
attacking  ancestral   worship. 

They  denounced  many  of  the  Chinese  customs  as 
sinful,  without  admitting  that  much  of  the  reverence 
was  praiseworthy.  The  result  was  that  wherever  these 
tracts  were  circulated  anti -missionary  riots  broke  out,  not 
because  of  the  wickedness  of  the  Chinese,  but  because 
of  the  ignorance  of  the  writers,  who  had  not  fully  studied 
Chinese  ideas  and  were  charging  the  natives  with  sin 
where  there  was  no  sin.  Thus  a  large  number  of 
Chinese  became  alienated  and  antagonistic  to  Christianity, 
and  the  tracts  therefore  were  undoing  the  very  work 
the   writers    wished   to   promote. 

During  my  first  year  in  China  a  missionary  friend 
came  to  me  in  great  triumph,  bearing  in  his  hand  the 
ancestral  tablet  of  one  of  his  native  Christians.  He 
told  me  that  as  the  man  had  become  a  Christian  he 
was  going  to  burn  the  tablet,  I  remarked,  "  When 
he  burns  his  tablet,  I  suppose  you  will  at  the  same 
time  burn  your  parents'  photographs?"  This  was  a 
new  thought  to  him.  The  ancestral  tablet  was  never 
burned . 


FAMINE   RELIEF  IN   SHANSI  147 

21.  Lost  Christians. 

Whilst  in  Shansi  I  learned  that  about  a  thousand  years 
ago  there  lived  a  famous  General  named  Kwoh 
Tze  Yi,  who  led  a  Chinese  army  successfully  against 
the  Huns  and  the  Turks  in  the  north-west.  He  was 
a  Christian,  and  his  home  was  at  Ping  Yang  fu.  There 
were  a  large  number  of  Christians  in  the  south  of  Shansi 
at  the  time.  After  that  period  there  arose  numerous 
religious  sects  in  South  Shansi,  stretching  as  far  as 
Sian  fu,  in  Shensi,  to  the  south-west  and  east  as  far 
as  Lo  Yang,  formerly  the  capital  of  Honan  and  once 
of  the  Chinese  Empire. 

At  one  time,  it  is  said,  there  were  no  less  than 
three  thousand  foreign  missionaries,  from  India,  Persia, 
Kabul,  and  Syria,  not  including  Mohammedans  and  Jews, 
in  Lo  Yang.  On  hearing  of  the  large  number  of  foreign 
missionaries  in  China  the  Japanese  Government  sent  an 
embassy  of  their  most  intellectual  and  devoted  scholars 
in  four  ships  to  the  capital  of  China.  Kobo  Daishi  and 
Dengyo  Daishi,  the  chief  among  these,  carried  back  to 
Japan  a  form  of  religion,  largely  Christian,  which  possibly 
prevails  over  Japan  to  this  day  under  the  name  of 
Higher   Buddhism    (Ta    Cheng   Kiao). 

2  2.   Lu  Tung  Pin. 

About  the  same  time,  A.D.  755,  there  arose  a  man 
in  China  named  Lu  Tung  Pin,  who  was  originally  a 
Confucianist  scholar,  who  became  a  magistrate  in  Kiang 
at  the  home  of  the  Taoist  Pope.  Having  become 
interested  in  Taoism  and  in  the  spiritual  truths  taught 
by  Nestorians  and  others,  he  became  converted  from 
the  magic  of  the  Taoists  to  the  ethical  and  spiritual  aspect 
of  religion  and  wrote  a  commentary  on  Taoism  which  is 
a  standard  work  to  this  day.  Thus  the  introduction  of 
foreign  religions  in  the  ancient  capital  of  China  resulted 
in  this  religious  sect  spreading  widely  over  Shansi,  Shensi, 
Honan,  and  Shantung,  its  tenets  being  even  to  this  day 
followed  more  or  less  by  hundreds  of  thousands  of 
believers.  Another  account  of  Lu  Tung  Pin  states  that 
he  was  a  teacher  of  religion  from  the  West  and  had  a 


148  FORTY-FIVE   YEARS   IN  CHINA 

white,  not  a  yellow,  face.  He  had  a  largie  following, 
who,  in  time  of  sickness,  used  to  go  to  a  temple  where 
they  burnt  incense  to  a  god  with  a  white  face  and  prayed 
for  prescriptions  to  heal  the  sick.  A  pencil  hung  from 
a  beam  jn  front  of  the  god,  and  after  the  prayer  was 
offered,  it  moved  on  a  planchette  where  sand  or  grain 
had  been  scattered  and  traced  what  was  considered  a 
prescription.  The  practice  of  going  to  the  temple  of 
this  god,  which  was  probably  found  in  most  of  the 
provinces  of  North  China,  continues  to  this  day.  Another 
way  of  procuring  a  prescription  was,  after  kneeling  and 
burning  incense,  to  draw  out  a  stick  from  a  tube  con- 
taining' a  bundle  of  them'.  On  it  was  a  certain  number. 
All  round  the  hall  hung  slips  of  yellow  paper  about 
eight  inches  long  and  two  inches  wide,  each  with  a 
number  above  and  a  prescription  printed  below.  The 
corresponding  slip  to  his  number  was  taken  home  by 
the  worshipper. 

When  thesie  religious  sects  sprang  up  in  large  numbers, 
there  arose  fierce  persecution,  from  the  Government  some- 
times favouring  Buddhism  and  persecuting  all  other  forms 
of  religion,  at  other  times  favouring  Taoism  or  Con- 
fucianism. Tradition  says  that  the  Christians  were  once 
proscribed  and  their  followers  condemned  to  be  barbers 
with  distinctive  clothes.  To  this  day  neither  actors  nor 
barbers  are  allowed  to  go  to  Government  examinations. 
A  large  number  of  barbers  recognize  Lu  Tung  Pin  as  the 
founder  of  their  religion,  and  the  Manchu  dynasty  not 
very  long  ago  forbade  the  making  of  the  god  with  the 
white   face. 

The  story  of  the  White  Lily  Sect  is  one  that  loomis 
very  largely  in  the  history  of  the  Manchu  dynasty.  What 
connection  it  had  with  the  Lotus  Scripture,  the  most 
popular  of  all  the  Buddhist  writings,  or  with  the  Pill 
of  Immortality  Sect,  is  not  yet  fully  known.  But  an 
interesting  peep  into  the  subject  is  given  by  Groot,  writing 
on  Sectarianism  ^.boiit  the  Lung  Hwa  Sect.  We  thus 
find  a  region  in  North  China  full  of  religious  interest,  a 
field  for  investigation  which  is  likely  to  produce  great 
religious  consequences. 


FAMINE   RELIEF  IN  SHANSI  149 

After  completing  our  task  in  Famine  Relief  in  1879, 
we  considered  how  best  we  could  give  the  Chinese 
the  Bread  of  Life.  To  do  this  we  had  to  prepare 
Christian  literature  which  would  appeal  to  the  Confu- 
cianists  who  ruled  thle  country,  to  the  Buddhists  who 
filled  the  Empire  with  the  best  temples,  to  the  Taoists 
who  had  been  half  awakened  from  superstitions,  charms, 
and  spells  by  the  spiritual  teaching  of  Lu  Tung  Pin, 
to  the  Mohammedans,  and  to  all  the  secret  sects  which 
had  some  two  hundred  thousand  followers  in  Shansi  alone. 
David  Hill,  who  wrote  Chinese  characters  himself,  a 
rare  accomplishment  among  missionaries,  began  to  pre- 
pare books  and  tracts.  I  felt  I  must  study  the  Chinese 
characters  more,  and  began  to  keep  a  diary  in  Chinese. 
I  also  made  a  feeble  attempt  at  corresponding  in 
Chinese  with  Hill,  while  he  was  away  in  Ping  Yang 
fu  with  Mr.  Turner.  But  I  dictated  tracts  to  my  Chinese 
teacher,  which  he  wrote  out  in  literary  style. 

In  the  early  summer  of  1879  Mr.  Hill  removed  to 
T'ai-yuan  fu,  where  we  worked  together  and  were  con- 
stantly thinking  on  parallel  lines.  Often  it  happened 
that  we  met  on  the  street,  he  going  to  my  house  and 
I  going  to  his,  to  discuss  some  new  idea  of  work  which 
had  occurred  to  each  independently  and  simultaneously. 
Our  friendship  was  the  closest,  happiest,  and  sweetest, 
and  lasted  till  his   death. 

23.  Distribution  of  Gospels  and  Tracts  in   108 

Counties. 
It  was  decided  to  distribute  Gospels,  pamphlets,  and 
specially  prepared  tracts,  carefully  avoiding  those  of 
a  destructive  nature  which  had  created  riots  in  other 
provinces.  It  was  a  gigantic  task,  considering  the  few- 
ness of  our  number.  A  great  map  of  the  counties  of  the 
province  was  laid  before  us,  and  volunteers  were  asked 
to  undertake  distribution  in  as  many  counties  as  they 
could.  After  a  large  number  had  been  provided  for, 
I  undertook  to  distribute  in  the  rest,  and  the  task  was 
accomplished  within  one  year. 


150  FORTY-FIVE   YEARS   IN   CHINA 

24.  Prizes  for  Essays  at  Triennial  Examinations. 

In  the  year  1879  there  was  held  one  of  the  regular 
triennial  examinations  of  some  seven  thousand  B.A. 
students  competing  for  the  M.A.  degree.  Suitable  pam- 
phlets were  chosen  for  distribution  among'  them.  One 
was  a  good  tract  prepared  by  a  committee  appointed  by 
the  Missionary  Conference  of  1877  in  Shanghai.  Another 
was  an  excellent  pamphlet  written  by  a  Shanghai  native 
Christian,  "  The  Mirror  of  Conscience."  Along  with  these 
were  offered  prizes  for  the  best  essays  on  moral  subjects. 

The  money  for  these  prizes  was  offered  by  Sir  Robert 
Hart,  in  order  to  encourage  Chinese  students  to  study 
books  on  religion  and  civilization.  Over  a  hundred  essays 
were  sent  in. 

25.  Pastor  Hsi. 

Amongst  the  successful  prizemen  was  a  Mr.  Hsi,  who 
had  formerly  been  the  head  of  the  Kin  Tan  Chiao  (Im- 
mortality Sect,  which  greatly  resembles  Nestorianism) 
at  Ping  Yang  fu,  where  he  had  first  come  under  Mr. 
Hill's  influence.  As  a  result  of  a  growing  friendship 
with  him,  Hsi  was  led  to  the  Christian  faith.  He  was 
baptized  by  Mr.  Turner,  and  finally  became  the  pastor 
of  the  native  Church',  under  the  Inland  Mission,  which  had 
decided  to  commence  Mission  work  in  Ping  Yang  fu, 
where   most   of  the   famine   relief   had   been   distributed. 

26.  Visit  to   Peking.     Interview  with   Li   Hung- 

CHANG. 

In  1880  there  was  trouble  between  Russia  and  China, 
and  hostilities  threatened.  Governor  Tseng  was  called 
to  the  coast  to  prepare  an  army  to  meet  the  Russians, 
but  many  of  his  men  decamped  on  the  way.  Being  con- 
vinced of  the  folly  of  the  Chinese  attempting  war  with 
any  foreign  nation,  I  wrote  a  pamphlet  on  Peace,  en- 
titled, "  Ho  I  Lun."  In  August  1880  I  left  for  Peking 
to  memorialize  the  high  officials  on  the  matter,  and  I  sent 
my  pamphlet  to  all  the  Yamens  in  the  capital.  It  aroused 
so  much  animosity  on  the  part  of  the  anti- foreign  war 


FAMINE   RELIEF  IN   SHANSI  151 

party  that  an  edict  was  issued  to  say  that  any  one 
advocating  peace  was  a  traitor,  and  would  suffer  the 
severest  penalties. 

In  September  1880  I  passed  through  Tientsin.  Having 
heard  I  was  in  the  city,  Li  Hung-chang  sent  word  to 
the  British  Consul,  Mr.  Forrest,  to  say  that  he  wished  to 
see  Jonathan  Lees,  of  the  London  Mission,  who  had  been 
distributing  famine  relief  in  Chihli,  and  myself.  I 
thanked  the  Viceroy  for  his  kindness  in  forwarding  the 
silver  to  Shansi,  and  relieving  me  of  all  anxiety  about 
its  safety,  and  he  thanked  us  both  for  what  we  had 
done  to  avert  the  sufferings  of  his  people.  Then  followed 
some  discussions  between  Mr.  Lees  and  the  Viceroy  about 
Christian  Missions,  and  the  latter  made  a  remark  that 
caused  me  considerable  thoug'ht  afterwards.  He  said  : 
"  Your  converts  gather  round  you  because  they  and  their 
friends  are  in  your  service  and  have  their  living  thereby. 
Withdraw  the  pay  of  these  native  agents  and  there  will 
be  no  more  Christians."  He  also  pointed  out  that  there 
were  no  Christians  among  the  educated  classes  of  the 
land.  This  made  me  consider  more  than  ever  the  im- 
portance of  influencing  the  leaders,  and  I  returned  to 
Shansi  resolved  to  lecture  to  the  officials  and  scholars. 

27.   Arrival  of  Dr.  Schofield  and  other  C.l.M. 

Workers. 

In  November  1880  Dr.  Harold  Schofield,  one  of  the 
most  brilliant  medical  missionaries  that  ever  came  to 
China,  arrived  in  T'ai-yuan  fu  for  the  Inland  Mission. 
He  was  a  delightful  companion,  always  inspiring  and 
appreciative.  Not  long  after  him  came  Mr.  Landale,  a 
lawyer  from  Edinburgh,  and  later  Mr.  Drake  was  trans- 
ferred from  Ping  Yang  fu  and  Mr.  Piggott  also  joined 
the  C.l.M.  at  T'ai-yuan  fu.  They  greatly  assisted  in  the 
distribution  of  Gospels  and  tracts. 

In  Shantung  I  had  the  happiest  relationship  with  every 
Mission,  English  and  American,  and  knew  every  mis- 
sionary in  the  province  personally.  It  was  a  great  delight 
to  meet  them  and  compare  notes  as  to  our  work.  The 
territorial    division    of    the     field    between    the    English 


152  FORTY-FIVE   YEARS   IN   CHINA 

Baptists  and  the  American  Presbyterians  was  the  happiest 
solution  of  a  trouble  that  threatened  us. 

In  Shansi  I  had  invited  the  Inland  Mission  to  join  in 
work  there,  and  later,  in  1883,  when  the  American  Board 
sent  the  Oberlin  Band,  I  su'g'gested  that  instead  of  having 
three  separate  places  of  worship,  one  for  each  denomina- 
tion, we  should  have  one  united  Protestant  Church  in 
the  capital  of  the  province.  I  also  proposed  that  we 
should  not  all  g'o  tO'  the  same  counties  to  work,  but 
divide  the  districts  amongtst  us,  as  in  Shantung,  so  as 
to  avoid  overlapping.  This  idea  commended  itself  to 
all  the  members  of  the  three  Missions,  and  we  worked 
together  most  harmoniously  for  some  time. 

28.   A  Regrettable  Severance. 

Our  relations  with  the  members  of  the  Inland  Mission 
had  been  of  the  friendliest.  Mrs.  Richard  used  to  take 
Miss  Crickmay,  Miss  Home,  and  Miss  Lancaster  with  her 
to  visit  Chinese  ladies.  Once  a  week,  before  he  was  able 
to  speak  the  language,  I  interpreted  for  Dr.  Schofield 
at  the  dispensary.  On  Wednesday  evenings  a  prayer- 
meeting  was  held  at  our  house,  all  remaining  for  social 
intercourse  afterwards,  while  on  Sundays  the  English 
service  was  in  our  room  also,  and  all  the  friends  stayed 
for  tea,  and  then  the  Chinese  service  in  the  evening, 
followed  by  hymn-singing.  Mrs.  Richard  held  a  class 
on  Wednesday  evenings,  teaching  Sol-fa  to  those  of  our 
friends  who  wished  to  learn  to  read  music.  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Landale  were  very  musical,  and  were  great  additions 
to  the  little  community.  Mrs.  Landale  was  a  most 
devoted  worker,  but  died  an  early  and  triumphant 
death . 

But  Mr.  Hudson  Taylor,  of  the  Inland  Mission,  broke 
our  harmony  by  ordering  his  members,  in  1 88 1,  to  have  a 
separate  place  of  Worship,  on  the  ground  that  I  was  not 
orthodox.  This  came  as  a  gteat  surprise  to  Dr.  Scho- 
field and  Mr.  Landale,  who  called  on  me  at  once  with 
Mr.  Taylor's  letter.  They  assured  me  that  they  had 
always  found  my  addresses  most  helpful  ;  but,  much 
against  the  wishes  of  most  of  them,  the  Inland  Mission 


FAMINE   RELIEF  IN  SHANSI  153 

in  T'ai-yuan  fu  had  their  separate  place  of  worship  and 
opened  a  separate  school. 

I  decided  in  November  to  go  to  Chefoo,  taking  over 
a  month  in  going  and  coming,  to  see  Mr.  Taylor  in 
person,  in  the  hope  of  settling  the  matter  more  satis- 
factorily. I  eventually  offered  to  leave  T'ai-yuan  fu, 
where  I  had  been  working  for  several  years  with  the 
vantage-ground  in  having  taken  part  in  famine  relief, 
and  move  on  to  the  provincial  capital  of  Honan,  from 
which  his  Mission  had  been  driven  out,  on  condition  that 
he  should  not  send  any  of  his  Mission  there,  but  leave 
the  field  to  English  Baptists.  To  this  suggestion  he 
would    not,   however,    agree. 

Confronted  with  this  impossible  attitude,  I  returned 
to  Shansi  with  a  sad  heart.  I  felt,  however,  that  it 
would  be  disgraceful  for  us  to  have  opposition  schools 
in  one  city.  On  being  told  that  the  Inland  Mission 
intended  to  carry  on  their  school  permanently,  I 
suggested  that  they  should  take  over  Mrs.  Richard's 
boys,  so  that  there  should  be  a  good  number  in  the 
school,  and  we  could  be  set  free  to  devote  ourselves 
to  some  other  good  work.  This  was  considered  the  best 
method  of  economizing  forces,  but  it  was  with  a  heavy 
heart  that  Mrs.  Richard  handed  over  her  sixty  pupils, 
to  whom  after  three  years'  teaching  she  had  become 
much  attached,  and  the  first  ten  of  whom  had  professed 
to   be   Chfistians  in  January    1880. 

There  is  much  more  that  I  might  say  in  self-defence, 
but  the  whole  matter  is  now  a  thing'  of  the  past.  I 
see  nothing  to  regret  in  my  attitude  at  the  time,  although 
even  to  this  day  its  consequences  follow  me.  But  I 
am  glad  to  say  that  in  T'ai-yuan  fu  itself  there  is  no 
longer  any  schism,  the  Baptist  Missionary  Society  now 
occupying   the    whole   city. 

29.  Biographies  of  Christians. 

During  1 880-1,  it  occurred  to  me  that  the  biographies 
of  notable  Christians  might  be  of  great  interest  to  the 
Chinese,  and  at  the  same  time  might  show  them  what 
the  aim   of  these   great   souls   had  been   down  the  ages 


154  FORTY-FIVE   YEARS  IN   CHINA 

and  in  all  countries.  I  therefore  procured  the  best 
Church  histories,  the  lives  of  the  saints,  pre -Reformation 
and  post-Reformation,  and  marked  such  passages  as  I 
thought  would  be  most  suitable  for  translation  into 
Chinese.  When,  therefore,  the  city  school  had  been 
handed  over  to  the  Inland  Mission,  my  wife  thought 
she  could  best  employ  her  time  in  the  translation  of 
the  lives  of  these  eminent  Christians.  During  my 
absence  in  Shantung  and  later  in  Peking,  she  continued 
her  work  till  they  accumulated  at  last  in  ten  Chinese 
volumes.  These  were  published  in  the  'nineties  in 
Shanghai . 

It  was  a  joy  to  find  that  the  able  Chinese  writer  who 
assisted  her  in  the  translation  became  a  Christian,  and 
there  is  no  brighter  ornament  in  the  Christian  Church 
in  Shansi  to-day  than  our  faithful  friend  Kao  Ta  Ling. 

30.  Unusual  Measures  to  Help  the  Shansi 
People. 

During  the  famine  wolves  became  very  bold,  and  often 
carried  children  dfif  from  their  villages  and  devoured 
them.  Remembering  how  one  of  the  Saxon  kings  had 
rid  England  of  wolves,  I  offered  a  reward  for  every 
wolf  captured,  dead  or  alive,  and  a  few  were  brought  me. 

As  I  'have  already  said,  a  feature  of  North  China  is  the 
loess  which  covers  the  surface  from  hundreds  to  thousands 
of  feet  in  depth.  The  heavy  rains  have  cut  wide 
and  deep  gullies  in  the  loess,  which  in  course  of  time 
have  developed  into  impassable  ravines,  making  progress 
across  country  wellnigh  impossible.  In  considering 
better  means  of  communication,  I  saw  the  great 
difficulties,  on  account  of  these  deep  ravines,  in  the  way 
of  railway  engineering,  and  I  thought  that  flying 
machines,  if  they  could  be  invented,  would  be  the  best 
means  of  communication,  and  would  be  a  great  boon 
to  the  country.  I  therefore  spent  some  time  in  studying 
the  flight  of  birds  and  insects,  noting  the  proportions 
between  the  weight  of  their  bodies  and  the  areas  of 
their  wings,  and  from  Ithe  musical  note  of  certain  insects' 
flight,    I   calculated  the  number   of  vibrations   made  per 


FAMINE   RELIEF   IN  SHANSI  155 

minute.  I  never  had  any  doubt  of  the  possibility  of 
men  being  able  to  invent  flying  machines.  As  Chinese 
v/ere  more  interested  in  kite-flying  than  any  other  nation, 
I  thought  it  possible  that  some  genius  among  them 
might  invent  a  flying  machine.  This  was  the  beginning 
of  my  interest  in  aircraft,  which  has  not  flagged  till 
this  hour  ;  but  the  progress  of  the  new  science  has 
gone  beyond  my  dreams. 

One  day,  the  Principal  of  one  of  the  Confucian 
colleges  came  to  me  and  said  :  "In  some  of  our  ancient 
books  mention  is  made  of  a  method  by  which  the 
destruction  of  the  tissues  of  the  body  can  be  arrested, 
resulting  in  suspended  animation,  a  condition  similar 
to  that  of  creatures  hibernating.  Do  you  know  of 
any  such  process  in  the  West  ?  If  you  do,  and  you 
could  teach  the  starving  people  the  secret,  many  might 
be   saved   from   perishing." 

I  replied  that  I  had  only  once  read  of  an  experiment 
in  connection  with  arrest  of  the  heart's  action,  in  Huxley's 
'*  Elementary  Lessons  in  Physiology,"  '  but  that  as  my 
knowledge  was  insufficient,  I  could  not  risk  any 
experiments. 

A  year  or  two  after  the  great  drought  and  famine  there 
was  a  heavy  fall  of  rain  all  over  the  province.  When 
I  was  in  the  neighbourhood  of  Kwei  Hwa  Ch'ing,  in  the 
north  of  the  province,  I  asked  the  farmers  what  kind 
of  harvest  they  had  had  that  year.  The  reply  was  : 
"  Very  bad  ;  it  is  too  good.  Everybody  has  plenty  and 
there  is  no  market.  The  expense  of  carting  the  grain 
to  a  district  that  needs  it  is  so  great,  and  labourers  are 
so  few  and  wages  so  high,  that  we  farmers  have  no 
alternative  but  to  leave  the  crops  rotting  in  the 
fields."  This  lamentable  state  of  affairs  was  one  of 
the  strong  arguments  that  I  used  when  urging  the 
authorities  to  build  railways,  so  as  to  secure  cheap 
transport  for  grain  both  in  time  of  need  and  in  time  of 
plenty . 

'  "  If  the  lungs  be  distended,  the  mouth  and  nose  stopped,  and  a 
strong  expiratory  effort  made,  the  heart's  action  may  be  stopped 
altogether.    There  is  a  danger  in  attempting  this  experiment  "  (p.  97). 


CHAPTER     VI 

WORK  AMONGST  OFFICIALS  AND  SCHOLARS. 

1881-4 

I.   Attitude  of  Officials  to  Foreigners. 

In  the  Han  dynasty,  which  was  contemporaneous  with 
the  beginning  of  the  Christian  era,  and  the  T'ang 
dynasty,  which  lasted  from  the  seventh  to  the  tenth 
century,  the  Chinese  Government  welcomed  the  arrival 
and  settlement  of  foreigners  in  their  midst,  whether 
Hindus,  Jews,  Parthians,  Christians,  or  Mohammedans. 
But  shortly  after  the  beginning  of  the  Manchu  dynasty 
there  was  a   complete   change   in   policy. 

The  situation  was  well  illustrated  by  the  following 
incident,  which  took  place  near  Ch'ing-chow  fu,  Shantung, 
in  1875.  ■^t  dawn  of  day  I  was  riding  out  of  a 
Chinese  village.  The  street  was  empty  save  for  a 
solitary  man  who  was  finishing  his  dressing  by  putting 
on  his  jacket.  As  I  came  up  to  him,  he  looked  at 
me   with   keenest   eyes  and  asked   whence   I   came. 

"  From  Ch'ing-chow  fu,"   I   replied. 

"  But,"  he  said,  "  you  are  not  a  Chinaman  ;  you  are 
a  foreigner." 

"  Yes,"    I    replied,    "  I   am    from    England." 

*'  England  !  "  he  exclaimed.  "  That  is  the  country 
that  rebelled  against  us  "  (referring  to  England's  first 
war   with   China   in    1837). 

"  She  could  never  rebel,"  I  said,  "  because  she  never 
belonged   to    China," 

"  But  she  did,"  he  retorted.  "  Before  that  time  she 
was  one  of  the  nations  that  paid  tribute  to  China."  (The 
presents  brought  by  Lord  Macartney  and  other  embassies 

166 


AMONGST  OFFICIALS   AND   SCHOLARS      157 

to  China  were  recorded  by  Chinese  historians  as  tribute 
from  England.)  "  When  England  revolted,  it  was  the 
greatest  rebellion  since  the  world  began," 

These  words,  which  he  spoke  with  great  indignation, 
indicated  exactly  the  attitude  of  the  Chinese  Government. 

When  the  brilhant  Jesuit  Fathers  Matteo  Ricci,  Adam 
Schael,  and  Verbiest  came  to  China,  they  were  received 
with  the  highest  honours  by  Emperors  Wan  Lieh  and 
K'ang  Hi.  But  the  Dominicans  who  followed  denounced 
the  policy  of  the  Jesuits,  and  dissensions  arose.  When  the 
Papal  Legate  M.  de  Tournon  arrived,  taking  sides  with 
the  Dominicans,  and  declaring  that  the  Jesuit  term  for 
God  was  not  correct,  K'ang  Hi  is  said  to  have  asked 
a  Dominican  priest  accompanying  the  Legate  to  read 
some  Chinese  characters  hung  up  in  the  Hall  of  Audience. 
As  the  priest  could  not  read  them,  the  Emperor  told  the 
Legate  that  he  had  better  take  all  these  ignorant  priests 
out  of  China.  The  Emperor  declared  that  he  knew  his 
own  language  better  than  they.  The  Jesuits  he  wished 
to  retain  in  Peking.  But  as  for  the  Pope,  he  should 
look  after  his  own  subjects,  and  the  Emperor  would 
rule  his  own. 

Later  on,  the  news  of  England's  conquest  of  India 
came  to  the  knowledge  of  Peking.  This,  in  addition 
to  the  Pope's  assumption  that  he  was  the  sole  ruler  of 
the  whole  eiarth,  who  had  given  the  East  to  Portugal 
and  America  to  Spain,  made  the  Manchu  Government 
fear  political  aggression  from  the  West.  They  in  turn 
assumed  that  the  Son  of  Heaven  was  the  sole  ruler 
of  the  world,  and  when  the  East  India  Company  came 
to  Canton,  edicts  were  issued  to  Lord  Napier  as  to  a 
Chinese  subject,  commanding  him  to  obey  in  fear  and 
trembling.  It  was  this  conflict  of  two  similar  assump- 
tions, and  not  any  of  the  side  issues,  that  brought  about 
the  first  war  with  China. 

Later  on,  the  Taiping  rebellion  made  the  Chinese 
fear  religious  propaganda  as  a  dangerous  political  move- 
ment. Consequently,  even  after  treaties  of  religious 
toleration  had  been  signed,  the  Chinese  Government  gave 
instructions  to  its  officials,  high  and  low,  that  they  were 


158  FORTY-FIVE   YEARS  IN   CHINA 

to  do  their  utmost  to  prevent  missionaries  settling  in 
the  interior,  lest  they  should  steal  the  hearts  of 
the  people.  One  maai  in  Kiangsu,  on  whose  person 
a  letter  from  a  foreigner  was  found,  inquiring  about  a 
house  to  rent,  was  put  to  death.  Landlords  who  rented 
houses  to  "  foreigh  devils  "  were  to  be  arrested  and 
severely  punished.  This  policy  explains  the  fact  that 
the  opening  of  almost  every  Mission  station  in  China 
was  accompanied  afterwards  by  a  riot,  originated  by 
the   officials  and   gentry. 

2.    Preparation   for  Better   Mission  Work. 

When  the  famine  in  Shansi  was  over,  and  I  began 
to  consider  the  reason  of  it,  and  of  the  poverty  of  the 
people^  I  fielt  I  must  study  the  cause  of  human  suffering, 
not  only  in  China  but  in  all  the  world.  In  pondering 
Western  civilization,  1  felt  that  its  advantage  over 
Chinese  civilization  was  4ue  to  the  fact  that  it  sought 
to  discover  the  workings  of  God  in  Nature,  and  to  apply 
the  laws  of  Nature  for  the  service  of  mankind.  This 
was  in  obedience  to  God's  command  to  Adam  to  have 
dominion  over  all  things.  In  applying  the  laws  of 
science  to  the  needs  of  man.  Western  nations  had  made 
marvellous  inventions  that  were  little  less  wonderful 
than  miracles.  I  was  convinced  that  if  I  could  lecture 
to  the  officials  and  scholars  and  interest  them  in  these 
miracles  of  science,  I  would  be  able  to  point  out  to 
them  ways  in  which  they  could  utilize  the  forces  of 
God  in  Nature  for  the  benefit  of  their  fellow-countrymen. 
In  this  way  I  could  influence  them  to  build  railways, 
to  open  mines,  to  avert  recurrences  of  famine,  and  save 
the  people  from  their  grinding  poverty.  Besides  the 
officials  of  the  province,  and  the  iStudents  of  the  Chinese 
colleges,  there  were  a  few  hundreds  of  expectant  officials 
who,  later,  would  be  given  posts  in  other  parts  of  the 
Empire,  and  through  whom  beneficial  results  might 
accrue  to  other  provinces. 

But  before  I  coul.d  talk  or  lecture  satisfactorily  I 
had  to  provide  myself  with  many  up-to-date  books  and 
apparatus.      I    stinted    myself  in   all    personal    expenses. 


AMONGST   OFFICIALS  AND   SCHOLARS      159 

living  in  a  Chinese  house,  wearing  Chinese  clothes,  and 
eating  Chinese  food,  so  that  I  might  spend  every  penny 
I  had  on  books  and  apparatus.  For  my  dwelling,  and 
for  Church  and  school  purposes,  I  took  a  large  house 
of  three  courtyards,  with  ten  rooms  built  round  them. 
They  were  well  furnished  with  beautiful  Shansi 
cupboards  decorated  in  gold  with  scenes  of  daily  life. 
The  best  rooms  were  floored  with  brick,  the  others  only 
with  clay  and  mud.  As  the  house  had  the  reputation 
of  being  unlucky,  it  had  stood  vacant  for  some  time, 
and  only  a  low  rental  of  twelve  taels  a  moon  was  there- 
fore charged  for  it.  The  foreign  devil  was  supposed 
to  fear  no  other  devils,  and  later  the  house  was  reduced 
in  rent  if  I  promised  never  to  leave  it,  and  I  paid  only 
about  £9  a  year  for  it.  Every  room  had  a  large  k'ang, 
built  of  brick  near  the  central  paper  window,  which 
measured  ten  feet  by  fifteen.  The  k'ang  was  about 
tw'o  and  a  half  feet  in  height,  and  was  six  feet  in  breadth. 
Underneath  it  were  flues.  A  fire  was  lit  at  the  side  in 
a  small  hole  over  a  foot  deep,  with  the  top  level  with 
the  floor,  and  it  was  supplied  with  coal  twice  a  day. 
This  kept  the  temperature  of  the  k'ang  and  the  room 
wonderfully  even  night  and  day.  The  k'ang  was  covered 
with  matting  and  felt  rugs,  which  somewhat  mitigated 
its  hardness.  The  women  sat  all  day  by  the  window, 
tailor    fashion,    on    the    k'ang   sewing. 

During  the  years  from  1880  to  1884  I  spent  nearly 
a  thousand  pounds,  including  a  legacy  left  me  by  a 
relative,  Joshua  Lewis,  pn  books  and  instruments.  A 
list  of  my  most  important  books  may  be  of  interest 
to  my  readers.     They  were  : — 

Standard  theological  books  on  Romanism  and 
Protestantism — German,  American,  British,  High  Church, 
Low  Church  and  Broad  Church,  and  Nonconformist  to 
guard  myself  against  becoming  a  one-sided  Christian  ; 
books  on  the  Comparative  Study  of  Religion,  Church 
History,  and  biographies  ;  a  complete  set  of  Max 
Miiller's  "  Sacred  Books  of  the  East  "  ;  a  complete  set  of 
the  Buddhist  Tripitaka  (not  translated  from  Sanskrit, 
but   most  accurately  translated  into   Chinese) — this  alone 


160  FORTY-FIVE  YEARS  IN   CHINA 

cost  £32  ;  books  on  Astronomy,  Electricity,  Chemistry, 
Geology,  Natural  History,  Engineering,  Workshop 
Tools  ;  books  on  Medicine  and  various  Industries ; 
standard  Histories  of  various  nations,;  the  Literature  of 
Asia,  "-  Encyclopsedia  Britannica  "  (in  those  days  each 
volume  was  sent  out  in  a  tin  case  and  cost  thirty 
shillings),   "  Chambers's  Encyclopaedia,"   etc. 

As  regards  educational  and  scientific  apparatus  I 
ordered'  : — 

Telescope,  microscope,  spectroscope,  hand  dynamo, 
(costing  £40),  Wimshurst  machine,  induction  coil, 
various  galvanic  batteries,  g^alvanometer,  Geissler  tubes, 
voltmeter,  electrometer,  pocket  sextant,  pocket  aneroids. 
I  also  had  magic  lanterns  worked  by  oxy-hydtogen, 
spirits  of  wine,  acetylene,  with  the  latest  set  of  astronomical 
slides,  natural  history  slides  on  Australia,  Africa,  America, 
etc.,  botanical  slides  on  tea,  coffee,  cocoa,  india-rubber, 
sugar-cane,  etc.,  and  scientific  slides.  I  also  ordered  a 
complete  photographic  outfit.  This  I  afterwards  gave 
to  my  Chinese  schoolmaster  who  helped  me  in  taking 
photographs,  and  later  he  became  the  best  photographer 
in    the    province.      I    also    procured    a    sewing'-machine. 

3.  Lectures  to  Officials. 

tWith  the  help  of  these  books  and  apparatus  I  was 
able  to  lecture  to  the  officials  and  scholars  on  the 
following    subjects  : — 

1.  The  astronomical  miracle  discovered  by  Copernicus. 

2.  The  miracles  of  chemistry. 

3.  The   miracles  of   mechanics,   such   as  the  lathe  and  other  tools, 

leading  to  the  sewing-machine  and  bicycle,  etc. 

4.  The  miracles  of  steam,  bringing  incalculable  blessings  to  every 

country  that  adopted  them,  as  seen  in  railways  and  steamers 
and  factories. 

5.  The  miracles  of  electricity  as   seen   in  the  dynamo,  utilized  for 

light  and  power  transmission. 

6.  The  miracles  of  light,  as  seen  in  the  magic  lantern  and  photography. 

7.  The  miracles  of  medicine  and  surgery. 

When  a  comet  appeared  in  June  1881  I  lectured  on 
it,  showdng  that  its  course  was  as  regular  as  the  changes 


--'      OS 


<         T 

H       E 


AMONGST   OFFICIALS   AND   SCHOLARS      161 

in  the  moon,  land  boded  no  evil.  For  three  years  I 
delivered  monthly  lectures  to  the  officials  and  scholars 
at  their  own  request.  To  give  an  instance  of  their 
appreciation,  when  a  quarrel  arose  between  the  Manchus 
and  Chinese  over  a  new  theatre  that  had  been  built, 
a  Prefect  strongly  urged  the  Governor  lo  give  the  theatre 
to  me  for  my  lectures. 

I  was  once  most  efficiently  helped  in  these  science 
lectures  by  Mr.  Elliston,  of  the  Inland  Mission,  who 
later  became  the  first  headmaster  of  the  Chefoo  School. 
He  was  then  spending  a  holiday  with  me  at  T'ai-yuan  fu. 
The  officials  considered  that  the  magic  of  modern 
science  far  surpassed  all  other  magic.  For  example, 
1  had  an  electro -magnet  and  an  anvil  of  60  lb.  weight 
at  one  end  oif  my  study,  while  I  stood  at  a  table  at 
the  other  end  with  a  switchboard  like  the  face  of  a 
clock.  I  asked  my  audience  to  examine  the  electro- 
magnet carefully  to  see  that  there  was  neither  hook 
nor  glue  on  it.  Yet  the  moment  1  touched  a  certain 
brass  peg  on  the  switchboard  at  one  end  of  the  room 
the  electro -magnet  at  the  other  end  would  jump  to  the 
anvil  with  a  click  and  cling  to  it. 

"  Now  listen."  The  click  was  heard.  "  Now,"  I 
cried,  "  lift  up  the  electro -magnet  !  "  But  as  soon  as 
this  was  attempted  the  heavy  anvil  was  lifted  too,  cling- 
ing to  the  magnet,  before  the  astonished  gaze  of  the 
onlookers.  "  Now  1  shall  stop  pressing  the  brass  peg, 
and  the  anvil  wiU  fall  from  the  magnet.  Take  care 
of  your  feet."  It  was  done,  and  the  anvil  fell  with 
a  great  clang  to  the  ground. 

On  another  occasion  I  delivered  a  lecture  on  oxygen, 
showing  how  it  supported  combustion  to  such  an  extent 
that  an  iron  wire  would  burn  in  it  like  a  wisp  of  straw. 
The  sight  of  this  excited  great  admiration  and  astonish- 
ment. But  the  next  experiment  in  hydrogen  did  not 
prove  successful  at  first  and  created  consternation.  I 
had  told  them  that  hydrogen  would  burn  like  oil,  and 
had  some  made  before  them.  But  as  soon  as  1  applied 
a  match  to  the  glass  tube  where  I  expected  the  jet 
of   hydrogen    to   burn   there   was   a   great   explosion  like 

11 


162  FORTY-FIVE   YEARS   IN   CHINA 

the   firing    of   a   pistol,    and   the    cork    of   the   flask   shot 
up  through  the  paper  ceiling  and  disappeared  from  view. 
Instantly  all  the  audience  rose  up  to  their  feet  in  panic, 
and  said  that  they  must  go,  as  they  had  urgent  matters 
on    hand    early    the    next    morning.      But    I    insisted   on 
their  listening  to  my  explanation  of  the  accident  before 
leaving.      They    reluctantly    remained    while    I    explained 
how  I  had  not  waited  long  enough  to  let  the  air  escape 
out   of    the   flask   before    applying   the    match,    and   that 
as   a   mixture   of   hydrogen   and  air   was   most   explosive 
there   could    have   been    no    other   result    than    that   they 
had    witnessed.       In    order    to    prove    what    I    said    was 
true   I    would  this   time   wait  until   all  the  air  had  been 
expelled    before    applying    the    match.      They    sat    down 
in   fear    and    trembling.      After    I    was    satisfied    that   no 
air   remained   in   the   flask    I   applied   a   match,   and   the 
hydrogen    burned    like    a    candle    flame    to    the    great 
astonishment  of   all.      I   then  let  them   go  away,   in  full 
possession  of  their  lives  and  in  peace  of  mind. 

In  the  lectures  on  electricity  I  gave  experiments  show- 
ing transmission  of  energy.  By  using  the  Wimshurst 
machine  and  an  induction-coil  combined  I  was  able  to 
send  at  least  thirty  thousand  volts  through  my  body.  I 
also  sent  electric  currents  through  Geissler  tubes,  hold- 
ing them  in  my  hands,  and  giving  a  magnificent  display 
of  light.  This  was  many  years  before  Tesla's  sensa- 
tional exhibitions  in  Europe.  Another  time  I  gave  a 
magic -lantern  lecture,  illustrating  the  parables  of  the  New 
Testament.  As  soon  as  I  had  exhibited  a  picture  of 
the  Parable  of  the  Unfruitful  Tree,  for  which  the  gardener 
pleaded  that  it  might  be  let  live  another  year,  I  over- 
heard one  official  saying  to  another,  "  He  is  preaching 
at  us   already." 

After  these  lectures  it  was  a  common  occurrence  for 
the  most  intelligent  to  remain  behind  and  ask  further 
questions  on  the  subjects  1  had  brought  before  them. 
But  I  had  to  be  careful  in  selecting  my  audience, 
to  avoid  inviting  those  of  different  rank  together.  On 
one  occasion  1  had  inadvertently  invited  some  tao-tais 
(rulers  of  about  thirty  counties),   chi-fus    (prefects   who 


AMONGST   OFFICIALS   AND   SCHOLARS      163 

rule  about  ten  counties),  and  county  magistrates,  who 
have  charge  of  only  one.  I  noticed  that  one  of  these 
district  magistrates,  who  usually  put  most  intelligent 
questions,  uttered  not  a  single  word  the  whole  evening. 
Seeing  him  the  next  day,  I  asked  him  the  reason  of 
his  silence.  He  replied  that  he  had  not  dared  to  speak 
in  the  presence  of  so  many  of  his  superiors.  Thereafter 
I  was  careful  to  invite  only  those  of  the  same  rank 
together  in  order  that  they  might  feel  free  and  sociable. 

In  all  the  lectures  I  pointed  out  how  God  had  pro- 
vided infinite  powers  for  man's  use  in  the  forces  of 
Nature,  in  ignorance  of  which  men  lived  like  drudges 
and  slaves.  Many  of  the  Government  couriers,  after 
riding  with  dispatches  for  long  distances  at  the  rate 
of  two  hundred  miles  a  day,  often  died  of  fatigue,  whUe 
the  electric  telegraph  was  able  to  transmit  in  a  few 
minutes  messages  from  all  round  the  earth,  causing  no 
exhaustion  to  any  one.  The  matter  of  supreme  im- 
portance was  that  we  should  study  all  the  laws  of  God 
in  Nature,  so  as  to  gain  the  benefits  that  God  intended 
to  bestow  upon  us  when  He  stored  up  all  these  forces 
for  our  use,  and  then  show  our  gratitude  for  all  His 
loving -kindness    by    obeying    His    spiritual    laws. 

After  my  lectures  were  commenced  in  T'ai-yuan  fu 
the  number  of  officials  and  students  who  came  to  see 
me  was  so  large  that  I  was  obliged  to  rent  an  addi- 
tional office  in  an  adjoining  street,  where  I  could  quietly 
pursue  my  studies  and  translation  work  without  inter- 
ruption from  callers,  who  had  a  habit  of  staying  for 
hours. 

4.  Visit  of  Prefect  Wang. 

There  was  a  Honan  man  named  Wang,  who  had 
become  a  Prefect  at  Ning  Wu  fu,  in  Shansi,  who,  being 
very  interested  in  foreign  learning,  had  often  come  to  see 
me  when  he  was  an  expectant  official  in  T'ai-yuan  fu. 
A  few  months  after  he  had  entered  into  office  he  came 
to  T'ai-yuan  fu  to  see  the  Governor  on  business.  During 
this  visit  he  called  on  me.  On  my  asking  what  reforms 
he  had  introduced   in   his  prefecture  he   waxed  eloquent 


164  FORTY-FIVE   YEARS   IN   CHINA 

in  describing  a  new  school  in  which  modern  science 
was  taught.  He  had  examined  the  pupils,  and  rewarded 
the  best.  Two  men  had  come  to  him  to  report  that 
they  had  seen  a  veritable  dragon  in  the  clouds  creep- 
ing over  the  high  mountains  of  Ning  Wu,  and  he  had 
explained  to  them  that  it  was  but  the  lightning  which 
had  come  out  of  the  cloud  in  the  form  of  a  snake  or 
dragon,  and  that  it  was  caused  by  nothing  else  than 
electricity,  which  foreigners  used  in  many  ways  ;  that 
the  explosion  of  the  lightning  had  set  loose  the  water 
in  the  dark  clouds  to  fall  in  rain.  This  was  the  scientific 
reason  for  the  operations  of  the  so-called  god  of  rain 
worshipped  for  thousands  of  years. 

After  this  we  fell  to  talk  of  religion.  He  told  me 
that  he  himself  was  not  a  Confucianist,  but  a  Taoist, 
and  was  surprised  that  I,  who  seemed  to  know  every- 
thing, should  believe  in  heaven  and  hell  like  the 
Buddhists. 

I  replied  :  "  You  know  that  when  you  go  to 
Shanghai  you  have  to  travel  to  Tientsin  by  cart,  then 
you  must  take  a  steamer  in  order  to  travel  by  sea?  " 

"  Yes,   that   is   clear." 

I  had  then  hanging  on  the  wall  of  my  study  a  fine 
astronomical  chart  of  the  solar  system,  published  by 
Johnstone.  I  pointed  to  the  planets,  and  asked  him 
if  he  knew  that  their  strength  of  gravitation  and 
pressure  of  atmosphere  differed  according  to  their  sizes, 
and  that  if  we  were  transferred  to  some  we  would 
be  crushed  to  death  by  the  atmospheric  pressure, 
while  if  we  were  transferred  to  others  we  would 
burst.  "  Therefore  if  we  ever  travel  from  this  planet 
to  another  we  must  change  this  body  of  ours  to  another 
fitted  to  live  in  our  new  home." 

"  Yes,   I   understand  that  it  must  be  so." 

"  Now,  why  did  you  reward  the  best  boys  of  your 
school  ?  " 

"  To  encourage  them." 

"  Have  you  pulled  down  your  jail?  " 

"  No." 

"Why  not?" 


AMONGST  OFFICIALS  AND  SCHOLARS      165 

"  Because  there  are  incorrigible  men  in  the  world." 
"  That  is  true,  and  the  only  way  to  deal  with  them  is 
to  shut  them  up  in  jail  to  prevent  them  from  doinjg* 
harm  to  others.  As  a  mandarin,  therefore,  you  find  the 
principle  of  rewards  and  poanishments  indispensable. 
Perhaps  the  Ruler  of  the  Universe  finds  the  same  neces- 
sity." 

At  this  point  he  rose  from  his  seat,  came  up  to  me 
and  made  a  profound  bow,  and  said  :  "I  see  all  you 
mean.  Print  this  conversation,  and  no  Confucianist,  after 
reading  it,  will  cavil  at  Christianity  any  more." 

5.  Confucian  Scholar   Residing   in   Compound. 

The  best  literary  man  of  the  province,  who  had  been 
selected  by  the  Government  to  edit  a  new  edition  of 
the  "  Topographical  Cyclopaedia  "  of  Shansi,  expressed 
a  wish  to  live  in  my  compound,  and  paid  a  small  rental 
for  his  apartment  and  remained  there  a  few  years.  He 
spoke  highly  of  the  works  of  the  Jesuit  Matthew  Ricci, 
especially  of  one  of  his  books  called  "  Tien  Chu  Shih 
Yi  "  ("  The  True  Purpose  of  God  "),  which  he  con- 
sidered ranked  with  the  books  of  Chinese  sages.  He 
also  much  appreciated  the  works  of  Dr.  Hobson,  of  the 
London  Mission,  at  Canton,  which  had  come  into  his 
hands,  interesting  him  on  account  of  their  scientific  know- 
ledge. I  asked  him  one  day  to  procure  some  Con- 
fucianist hymns  for  me,  but,  after  searching  for  some 
weeks,  he  informed  me  he  could  not  find  any  popular 
ones.  Their  poetry  consisted  chiefly  of  complaint  against 
the  providence  of  Heaven.  When  this  high  scholar  was 
appointed  to  an  official  position  elsewhere  he  paid  me 
a  farewell  visit,  during  which  we  had  a  long  conversa- 
tion on  religion.  In  the  midst  of  our  talk  he  took 
up  a  book  of  the  classics  from  the  table  and  deliberately 
placed  it   on  the  floor. 

"  There  is  not  another  man  in  all  Shansi  who  would 
dare  do  that  !  "  he  cried,  "  so  great  is  their  reverence 
for  characters  and  printed  pages.  As  for  me,  the  out- 
ward form  and  symbols  have  no  real  value  in  themselves. 
It   is   the   meaning   they   represent   that    I    reverence.      I 


166  FORTY-FIVE   YEARS   IN   CHINA 

honour  the  truths  contained  in  them.  So,  if  you  ask 
me  to  be  baptized  and  become  a  Christian,  I  reply 
that  the  outward  rite  has  no  meaning  for  me.  God 
will  not  respect  me  any  more  after  a  few  drops  of 
water  in  baptism  or  a  plunge  in  the  river.  If  1  am 
truly  sincere,  baptism  and  outw^ard  conforming  to  your 
ceremonies  cannot  make  me  a  better  man." 

"  That  is  true,"  1  replied  ;  "  but  that  is  not  the 
question.  The  point  is  whether  you  are  willing  to 
promote  the  Kingdom  of  God  on  earth,  and  help  to 
uplift  your  fellow -men." 

"  Ah  !  "  he  cried,   "  I  am  with  you  there." 

6.  Interview  with  Tso  Tsung-t'ang. 

Besides  these  opportunities  of  influencing  the  high 
officials  of  T'ai-yuan  fu  I  had,  on  one  occasion,  an 
important  interview  with  Viceroy  Tso  Tsung-t'ang.  He 
was,  like  Governor  Tseng  Kwoh-ch'uen,  a  Hunan  man, 
and  had  been  sent  by  the  Chinese  Government  to 
Hi  to  recover  that  province  from  the  Russians,  who 
had  occupied  it  for  some  years.  He  solved  the  diffi- 
culty of  transporting  food  for  his  army  by  ordering 
his  soldiers  to  cultivate  the  land  and  raise  the  needed 
harvest  on  the  spot.  He  took  his  time,  but  succeeded 
in  his  task. 

After  recovering  the  province  he  returned  to  Peking, 
and  on  his  way  back  had  to  pass  on  the  highway  a 
place  about  thirty  miles  from  T'ai-yuan  fu.  As  he 
was  the  Viceroy  of  Shensi  and  Kansu,  as  well  as  the 
great  pacificator  of  Hi,  all  the  high  officials  of  Shansi, 
from  the  Governor  downwards,  went  to  meet  him.  As 
I  was  on  friendly  terms  with  the  T'ai-yuan  fu  officials, 
they  advised  me  to  go  with  them  and  meet  the  great  man. 

I  had  completed  a  historical  chart  of  the  world,  after 
studying  which  a  Chinaman  in  half  an  hour  could  obtain 
a  better  conception  of  the  comparative  history  of  the 
world  than  any  of  their  best  statesmen  had  ever  had 
before.  This  I  took  as  a  present  to  the  Viceroy.  When 
I  arrived  at  the  inn  where  he  was  spending  the  night, 
he  arranged  that  he  would  receive  the   Chinese  officials 


AMONGST   OFFICIALS   AND   SCHOLARS      167 

together  in  a  group.  After  he  had  dismissed  them 
he  gave  me  a  private  audience,  and  kept  me  till  late 
at  night,  as  he  was  thoroughly  interested.  He  first 
of  all  discussed  the  historical  chart,  which  pleased  him. 
Then  he  told  me  of  the  reforms  he  had  started  in 
Kansu,  in  putting  up  machinery  for  the  woollen  manu- 
factures. He  allowed  me  to  inspect  specimens,  of  which 
he  was  naturally  proud,  for  the  transport  of  the  machinery 
overland  had  involved  gigantic  toil.  After  1  had 
explained  our  work  in  famine  relief  he  talked  about 
religion,  and  said  that  as  long  as  we  missionaries  exhorted 
people  to  do  good  the  Chinese  Government  would  have 
no  objection,  for  they  also  did  the  same.  He  insisted 
that  no  real  antagonism  lay  between  Confucianism  and 
Christianity. 

It  is  worthy  of  note  that  later,  when  he  became 
Viceroy  of  Nanking,  though  there  had  formerly  for  many 
years  been  feud  there  between  the  authorities  and  the 
missionaries,  when  Mr.  Hart,  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
Mission,  asked  for  permission  to  buy  land  and  put  up 
schools  and  hospitals  the  Viceroy  commanded  the  district 
magistrates  to  see  to  the  suitable  establishment  of 
Christian  Missions  in  Nanking. 

7.   Friendly   Intercourse. 

During  this  time  Mrs.  Richard  received  frequent  calls 
from  the  leading  official  ladies  in  the  city  and  from  the 
wives  of  the  gentry,  among  whom  were  several  Moham- 
medans. This  was  the  beginning  of  social  intercourse 
with  the  leading  families.  V^hen  some  of  them  wished 
mc  to  educate  their  sons,  I  asked,  "  Are  you  not  afraid 
I  shall  influence  them  in  favour  of  Western  learning  and 
religion?"  They  replied  they  could  have  no  fear  for 
what  was  good  and  useful.  Other  officials,  on  leaving 
the  capital  for  their  respective  appointments,  called  to 
bid  me  farewell  and  thank  me  for  the  valuable  instruc- 
tion they  had  received,  and  told  me  that  if  any  of 
my  friends  ever  went  to  their  districts  I  was  to  be 
sure  to  give  them  letters  of  introduction  and  they  would 
be    well    looked     after.      This     was    not     merely     empty 


168  FORTY-FIVE   YEARS   IN   CHINA 

promise.  At  the  end  of  eight  years'  work  in  Shansi 
there  were  fifty  missionaries  from  Europe  and  America, 
with  many  Mission  stations,  in  the  province,  and  not 
a  single  riot  anywhere. 

This  was  really  the  beginning  of  social  relations 
between  the  Chinese  and  foreign  missionaries.  Since 
then  many  of  the  leading  missionaries,  especially  those 
engaged  in  educational  and  medical  work,  have,  in  the 
various  provincial  capitals,  cultivated  the  friendship  of 
the  Viceroys  and  Governors,  with  the  happiest  results. 

8.  Chinese  Music. 

I  was  told  by  the  Confucianists  that  their  religion  was 
largely  explained  in  a  famous  work  of  the  Sung  Dynasty, 
about  a  thousand  years  ago,  "Li  yo  "  (which  might  be 
translated  "Ritual  Rites  and  Music").  It  was  when 
studying  the  musical  part  of  this  that  I  came  across  the 
Chinese  Tonic  Sol-fa  system  similar  to  that  which 
Europeans  had  fondly  imagined  to  be  the  latest  product 
of  the  nineteenth  century.  It  was  fully  known  in  China 
so  long  ago.  For  further  information  on  this  subject 
the  reader  can  turn  to  a  pamphlet,  "  Chinese  Music," 
published   in    1898    by    Mrs.    Richard. 

My  wife  and  1  prepared  about  the  same  time  a  work 
in  ten  volumes  on  the  music  of  the  world,  nine  of  which 
remain  still  in  manuscript,  though  one  was  published 
and  used  for  several  years  in  Shansi.  These  volumes 
contained  the  airs  and  words  of  the  National  Anthems 
of  the  various  nations,  showing  the  aspirations  of  the 
different  races.  To  illustrate  the  ideals  of  the  negroes 
some  of  the  melodies  of  the  Jubilee  Singers  were 
inserted. 

In  1882  the  new  Governor  of  Shansi,  Chang  Chih- 
tung,  who  afterwards  became  the  famous  Viceroy,  was 
bent  on  reviving  the  Confucian  religion  in  the  province. 
A  new  temple  was  built  to  the  honour  of  Confucius, 
possessing  a  complete  set  of  musical  instruments  of  many 
kinds,  the  same  as  are  in  use  in  Shantung  at  the 
home  of  Confucius.  A  man  in  charge  of  the  temple 
had  the  training  of  a  number  of  Confucian  students  in 


AMONGST  OFFICIALS   AND  SCHOLARS      169 

the  art  of  music.  On  him  I  called  one  day,  and  we  had 
a  talk,  during  which  he  discovered  that  I  knew  something 
of  music.  On  my  asking  if  I  might  listen  to  them 
at  their  next  performance  he  said,  "  We  will  have  one 
now."  Forthwith  he  called  on  some  thirty  Sui-ts'ais  to 
perform.  It  was  a  pitiable  display,  for  although  the 
instruments  were  many  and  beautiful  and  new  the  man 
in  charge  did  not  know  how  to  tune  them,  with  the 
result  that  there  ensued  a  fearful  discordant  noise,  but 
no  music. 

I  asked  the  principal  why  he  did  not  put  the  instru- 
ments all  in  tune.  This  was  a  new  art  to  him.  He 
said  he  wished  to  know  how.  I  then  invited  him  to 
my  house,  saying  that  my  wife  understood  music  very 
well  and  she  could  explain  to  him.  Thus  we  helped 
in  putting  Confucian  music  on  a  better  footing  in  Shansi. 

9.  Intercourse  with  Buddhists. 

In  order  to  understand  the  Buddhists  I  went  and 
lived  a  month  in  one  of  their  chief  temples,  where 
the  Abbot  had  come  from  a  distance  to  hold  an  ordina- 
tion of  a  hundred  priests.  I  took  my  daily  meals  with 
him.  He  was  a  good  man,  over  sixty  years  of  age. 
Before  every  meal  he  used  to  pray  with  an  unction  that 
it  would  be  difficult  for  any  Christian  to  surpass.  His 
grace  consisted  of  four  words — "  San  Pao  Fa  Sung  " 
("We  live   by  the   grace   of  the   Precious  Trinity"). 

The  education  of  the  priests,  however,  was  most 
elementary.  Besides  reciting  their  morning  and  evening 
prayers,  which  they  did  with  great  regularity,  their  studies 
were  chiefly  directed  to  points  of  ritual.  After  only 
fifty  days'  study  they  received  diplomas,  stamped 
by  the  Abbot. 

10.  Visit  to  Wu  T'ai  Shan. 

There  is  in  Shansi  one  of  the  five  mountains  sacred 
to  the  Buddhist  religion.  This  is  Wu  T'ai  Shan,  a  few 
days'  journey  to  the  north  of  T'ai-yuan  fu.  In  July  1880 
I  paid  a  visit  to  it.  On  the  mountain  were  numbers  of 
monasteries,   with  thousands  of  monks  belonging  to  two 


170  FORTY-FIVE   YEARS   IN   CHINA 

sects  of  Buddhism — the  one  the  ordinary  blue -robed 
Buddhists  of  China,  the  other  the  yellow  and  red  robed 
Buddhists  of  Tibet  and  Mongolia,  called  Lamas.  Once 
a  year  in  midsummer  there  was  held  a  great  religious 
gathering  at  this  mountain,  similar  in  importance  to  the 
Day  of  Atonement  among  the  Jews.  It  was  also  an 
opportunity  for  a  great  fair  to  which  Mongols  brought 
ponies  and  mules  for  sale. 

The  chief  dignitary  seemed  to  be  the  Abbot  of  the 
Central  Lama  monastery.  In  the  hope  of  seeing  him 
I  had  carefully  prepared  a  large  coloured  map  of  the 
world,  with  the  places  written  on  it  in  Chinese  characters. 
This  I  sent  in  to  him  with  my  card,  asking  for  an 
interview.  He  appointed  a  time,  and  we  had  an  interest- 
ing talk.  1  explained  the  meaning  of  the  map,  pointing 
out  the  various  zones  and  the  continents  and  countries, 
and  showing  that  the  map  was  drawn  up  to  scale  of 
so  many  li,  from  which  he  could  judge  of  the  relative 
sizes  of  the  nations.  It  was  the  first  map  of  the  world 
that  he  had  ever  seen,  and  he  was  greatly  pleased  with  it, 
ordering  refreshments  at  once.  I  then  explained  that 
my  object  in  visiting  him  was  to  know  more  about  the 
Buddhist  religion,  and  asked  to  be  allowed  to  witness 
their  worship  on  the  following  day.  He  granted  this 
willingly. 

On  arriving  next  morning  I  found  the  place  thronged 
with  crowds  of  Chinese  and  Mongols,  through  which  it 
was  most  difficult  to  make  my  way.  As  I  approached 
the  loS  steps  which  lead  to  the  temple  court  a 
number  of  servants  with  whips  in  their  hands  were 
waiting  for  me,  and  on  seeing  me  began  at  once  to 
clear  a  passage  through  the  mob  with  their  whips.  I 
was  then  led  to  a  large  courtyard  and  through  another 
crowd  to  a  platform,  where  sat  a  Chinese  official,  a 
Mongol  official,  and  his  wife,  in  red  and  yellow  robes. 
I  was  invited  to  sit  there  with  them. 

The  worship  began  by  the  beating  of  a  great  drum 
to  the  accompaniment  of  some  music.  Then  prayers 
were  recited  in  a  very  deep  bass  voice  (out -Russianizing 
the  Russian  priests).      Next  followed  a  most  unexpected 


AMONGST   OFFICIALS   AND   SCHOLARS      171 

and  surprising  dance.  A  number  of  men  appeared, 
wearing  extraordinary  masks  on  their  heads,  some  like 
tigers,  others  like  birds  of  prey,  so  that  the  assembly 
resembled  what  might  have  been  a  gathering  of  all 
the  various  animals  of  Egyptian  mythology.  After 
watching  this  religious  dance  I  visited  the  chief  temple 
of  the  Chinese  Buddhists,  where  I  witnessed  a  great 
contrast  in  their  worship.  Everything  was  most 
reverential  and  impressive. 

The  music  strongly  reminded  me  of  the  Gregorian 
chants  and  responsive  singing  of  the  ancient  Church. 
The  priests  were  divided  into  two  bands,  one  on  the 
right  of  the  aisle,  the  other  on  the  left.  One  band 
stood  with  the  palms  of  the  hands  pressed  together 
in  front  of  their  faces,  and  sang  in  unison  a  verse 
of  four  lines,  whilst  the  other  band  prostrated  them- 
selves in  silence.  By  the  time  the  prostration  was 
finished  these  in  turn  took  up  the  second  verse,  singing 
it  standing,  while  the  first  knelt  silently  and  bowed 
themselves  to  the  ground.  The  chant  they  used  was 
so  sweet  that  I  took  it  down  and  used  it  afterwards 
in   Christian   worship.      Here  it  is  : — 


I  was  not  able  to  find  any  place  in  Shansi  where 
Taoist  priests  were  educated  and  ordained,  but  in  1881 
I  visited  their  college  in  Peking,  which  was  patronized 
by  the  Government.  I  also  wrote  to  the  Taoist  Pope 
in  Kiangsi  for  textbooks  of  their  modern  teaching,  but 
merely  received  in  reply  some  charms  which  were  con- 
sidered as  potent  in  warding  off  all  evil  as  a  cross 
blessed  by  the  Roman  Pope. 

While  studying  Chinese  religion  and  translating  such 
foreign  literature  as  I  thought  would  be  helpful  I  varied 
my  work  by  lectures  to  the  officials  and  gentry  and 
evangelistic  trips  to  the  villages.  A  school  of  sixty 
orphan  boys  was  also  established  in  the  city  and  super- 
intended by  my  wife,  who  visited  in  addition  some  seven 
elementary  schools  in  the  villages  of  the  district. 


172  FORTY-FIVE   YEARS  IN  CHINA 

II.   Chang   Chih-tung. 

Ever  since  Great  Britain  and  France  occupied  Peking 
in  i860,  Prince  Kung,  the  greatest  man  in  China,  knew 
how  futile  it  was  to  oppose  foreign  Powers.  But  about 
1880  there  had  arisen  three  young,  brilliant,  anti-foreign 
Chinese,  so  full  of  the  learning  and  past  glory  of  China 
that  they  declared  that  China  need  only  show  a  bold 
front  to  the  insolent   foreigners   to  make  them  retire. 

Prince  Kung*'s  policy  was  too  timid.  A  palace  revolu- 
tion was  engendered  that  replaced  Prince  Kung  by  his 
anti-foreign  brother,  Prince  Ch'un. 

One  of  these  brilliant  young  Chinese  was  Chang  Chih- 
tung,  who  was  rewarded  by  being  sent  to  Shansi  as 
Governor  in  1882,  the  rule  of  keeping  Peking  officials 
always  in  the  capital  being  broken  in  his  case.  The 
second  young  official  was  Chang  Pei  Lun,  who  was  made 
Admiral  at  P'oochow.  He  it  was  who  reported  that  the 
forts  were  impregnable,  a  statement  refuted  by  the  French, 
who  captured  them  within  three  days.  I  forget  now  the 
name  of  the  third  official.  But  all  three  lived  to  find 
out  that  the  knowledge  they  possessed  of  the  world  was 
very  elementary  and  insufficient. 

From  the  beginning  of  his  Governorship  in  Shansi, 
Chang  Chih-tung  was  most  energetic  in  devising  means 
to  enrich  the  people  and  to  avert  future  famines.  Finding 
in  the  archives  of  the  Yamen  in  T'ai-yuan  fu  some 
suggestions  of  mine  to  the  former  Governor  Tseng  Kwoh 
Ch'ucn  to  build  railways,  open  mines,  commence  manu- 
factures and  industries,  and  found  a  college  for  modern 
education,  he  called  together  the  leading  officials  ^nd 
laid  the  sug'gestions  before  them,  and  afterwards  sent 
me  a  deputation  of  three  officials,  asking  me  to  give  up 
missionary  work  and  enter  the  Chinese  service  for  the 
purpose  of  carrying  out  my  ideas.  I  replied  that  although 
I  knew  the  value  of  those  reforms,  I  was  not  an  expert, 
and  it  would  be  necessary  for  a  number  of  foreigners 
to  be  engaged  who  were  experts  in  their  respective  lines 
of  work  before  the  reforms  could  be  carried  out  satis- 
factorily.     The  officials  replied  that  the  Governor  under- 


AMONGST   OFFICIALS   AND   SCHOLARS      173 

stood  that,  but  as  I  had  the  best  interests  of  China 
at  heart,  he  desired  to  find  suitable  men  to  carry  out 
the  various  reforms  under  my  direction.  To  this  I  replied 
that  however  important  material  advantages  were,  the 
missionary  was  engaged  in  work  of  still  greater  import- 
ance, and  that  I  could  not  permanently  leave  the  higher 
work  for  the  lower.  I  therefore  declined  the  honour  and 
emolument. 

As  there  was  danger  of  the  river  flooding  the  city, 
the  Governor  asked  me  to  take  surveys  of  the  land  round 
T'ai-yuan  fu  and  make  suggestions  for  preventing  future 
inundations.  I  asked  Dr.  Schofield  to  help  mc  in  taking 
levels  and  photographs,  and  we  reported  our  views  to 
the  Governor.  He  also  asked  me  to  get  estimates  of 
proper   mining  machinery  for   him,   which   I   did. 

Before  the  Governor  had  made  up  his  mind  what  to 
do  in  regard  to  his  projected  reforms,  he  was  made 
Viceroy  of  Canton,  to  deal  with  the  French  who  were 
making  trouble  on  the  borders  of  Annam. 

Later,  when  he  was  transferred  to  be  Viceroy  of 
Wuchang,  the  suggestions  made  in  Shansi  were  not  for- 
gotten. He  founded  steel  works,  started  the  railway,  and 
began  industries  and  modern  colleges,  such  as  I  had 
suggested  to  him  in  Shansi.  Once  more  I  was  asked  to 
join  his  service,  and  once  more  I  declined.  I  also  felt  that 
underneath  this  invitation  there  was  a  strong  residuum 
of  anti-foreign  feeling  which  I  feared  might  produce  too 
much  friction.  He  was  about  the  only  official  at  that 
time  who  seemed  awake  and  in  earnest.  The  rest  were 
still  asleep,  or  proud  and  indifferent  to  the  sufferings  of 
the  people. 

12.  Intercourse  with  Roman  Catholics. 

From  the  first  1  felt  it  my  duty  to  be  as  faithful 
and  kind  in  regard  to  what  1  considered  to  be  the 
mistaken  views  of  the  Roman  Catholics  as  I  was  towards 
the  non-Christian  Chinese.  In  1873,  when  going  to  Chi- 
nan  fu  for  the  first  time,  1  asked  the  Roman  Catholic 
priest  in  Chefoo,  Angelini  by  name,  who  had  been  in 
New   Zealand  and   spoke   English   well,    if   I   could   take 


174  FORTY-FIVE   YEARS   IN   CHINA 

anything  from  him  to  the  priests  in  the  provincial  capital. 
He  gave  me  a  parcel,  and  after  arrival  in  Chi -nan  fu,  I 
called  with  it  at  the  cathedral.  The  Bishop  was  not  at 
home,  but  the  priests  were  very  friendly  and  invited  me 
to  dinner  with  them.  When  1  returned  to  Chefoo,  I 
reported  my  visit  to  Angelini.  Some  three  years  after- 
wards, happening  to  be  in  Chefoo,  1  heard  that  he  was  ill 
and  called  to  see  him.  1  found  him  in  bed.  After 
some  talk,  he  asked  if  1  would  pray  for  him,  which 
of  course  I  was  glad  to  do.  When  I  was  married,  in 
1878,  Angelini,  without  invitation,  attended  my  wedding. 

When  I  went  to  Shansi,  the  Governor,  as  1  have  already 
said,  referred  me  to  the  Roman  Catholic  Bishop  to  con- 
sult about  co-operation  in  famine  reUef.  There  were 
two  Bishops  in  T'ai-yuan  fu  at  the  time — one  an  elderly 
man,  rather  infirm,  nearly  seventy  years  of  age,  the 
other  an  Italian  Franciscan,  a  few  years  my  senior,  in  fuU 
vigour  of  life,  whose  Chinese  name  was  Ngai.  He  tried 
at  first  to  persuade  me  to  return  to  Mother  Church.  I 
asked  how  he  knew  which  was  really  the  Mother  Church. 
Thereupon  we  began  a  controversy  which  lasted  three 
successive  days,  he  defending  his  case,  I  telling  him  that 
as  he  knew  only  one  side  of  the  question  he  was  not 
in  a  position  to  judge.  He  retaliated  in  the  same  way, 
but  1  assured  him  that  1  possessed  all  his  standard  works, 
while  he  was  not  allowed  to  read  the  Protestant  standard 
books. 

The  first  day  their  leading  native  priest  was  present, 
so  we  talked  in  Chinese,  but  the  other  days  he  was 
not  asked  to  be  present,  so  we  discussed  the  religious 
experiences  of  Cardinal  Newman  and  the  various  differ- 
ences between  the  two  Churches  until  each  thoroughly 
understood  the  position  of  the  other.  We  parted  good 
friends. 

When  David  Hill  and  Joshua  Turner  arrived,  I  took 
them  to  call  on  the  Bishop,  and  thanked  him  for  the 
evidence  he  had  collected  from  his  priests  throughout 
the  province  regarding  the  extent  of  the  famine.  While 
we  three  were  distributing  relief,  we  learnt  that  the  Bishop 
had  offered  public  prayers  on  our  behalf  in  the  cathedral. 


AMONGST   OFFICIALS   AND   SCHOLARS      175 

When  I  was  again  in  T'ai-yuan  fu,  a  rumour  spread 
abroad  among  the  people  as  to  the  baneful  influence  of 
the  angel  on  the  top  of  the  cathedral.  This  figure, 
blowing  a  trumpet,  served  as  a  vane,  and  faced  the 
direction  whence  the  rain-bringing  wind  came.  Con- 
sequently the  Chinese  declared  that  whenever  wind  began 
to  blow  from  that  quarter,  the  angel  with  the  trumpet 
blew  both  wind  and  rain  away.  They  therefore  threatened 
to  pull  down  the  cathedral.  The  Governor,  who  was 
anxious  to  stir  up  trouble  betwen  us  and  the  Roman 
Catholics,  felt  sure  that  if  I  disapproved  of  the  figure 
I  would  not  hesitate  to  say  so  when  such  an  opportunity 
offered,  and  he  sent  his  secretary  to  see  me.  I  replied  : 
"  Tell  the  Governor  that  the  people  are  completely  mis- 
taken. That  angel  on  the  steeple  of  the  cathedral 
merely  represents  a  quotation  from  our  Scriptures,  and 
has  no  magic  influence  such  as  the  people  think."  He 
asked  if  I  would  show  him  the  passage.  I  took  a 
copy  of  the  New  Testament,  folded  down  the  leaf  where 
the  reference  was,  and  told  him  to  show  it  to  the  Governor. 
He  went  away  much  relieved,  and  the  cathedral  was  saved. 

After  this,  when  in  T'ai-yuan  fu,  the  Bishop  and  I 
exchanged  calls  several  times  a  year.  At  one  of  these 
visits  he  told  me  he  had  sent  instructions  to  his  priests 
that  if  I  went  anywhere  near  their  churches  they  were 
to  invite  me  to  stay  in  their  quarters,  as  1  would  find 
them  cleaner  than  the  inns.  He  also  asked  me  to  deliver 
my  lecture  on  astronomy  to  his   students,   which   I   did. 

When  Leo  XI 11  became  Pope,  he  divided  the  Chinese 
Empire  into  five  districts,  each  with  centres  where  the 
Bishops  could  meet  to  consider  mission  problems.  T'ai- 
yuan  fu  being  the  centre  of  one  of  these  districts,  a 
conference  was  held  there,  attended  by  the  Bishops  of 
Shantung,  Shensi,  Kansuh,  and  Mongolia.  I  was  invited 
to  meet  them  at  dinner,  and  as  we  all  spoke  Chinese, 
we  had  no  difificulty  in  understanding  each  other.  I 
was  also  asked  to  attend  their  Conference,  but  as  it  was 
not  to  be  conducted  in  Chinese,  I  thanked  them  for  their 
courtesy,  and  declined.  They  continued  friendly,  sending 
us  presents  of  tomatoes  and  some  of  their  Shansi  wine 


176  FORTY-FIVE   YEARS   IN   CHINA 

from  time  to  time.  When  the  Bishop  called,  he  was 
often  accompanied  by  an  Italian  priest  named  Wei,  the 
organist  of  the  cathedral.  We  had  a  harmonium  in  our 
home,  and  when  my  wife  played  some  of  Rossini's  music, 
Wei  was  delighted.  My  wife  asked  the  Bishop  if  there 
were  any  European  nuns  in  the  province,  as  in  Shantung 
and  Chihli,  but  at  that  time  there  were  none  ;  they  did 
not  then  dare  to  send  sisters  so  far  into  the  interior,  as 
the  Chinese  would  have  been  sure  to  circulate  all  kinds 
of  evil  reports.  Still,  the  priests  had  just  commenced 
to  educate  some  orphan  girls,  who  were  taught  a  few 
elementary  books  and  sewing,  to  enable  them  to  earn  their 
living.  Mrs.  Richard  suggested  that  they  should  be  taught 
to  use  the  sewing-machine.  We  ordered  one  for  him,  and 
in  due  course  it  arrived,  and  my  wife  went  over  to 
the  school  to  show  the  girls  how  to  use  it. 

13.  Journey  to  Shantung. 

Returning  now  to  chronological  order  again.  In  1882, 
my  colleague,  Alfred  Jones,  who  was  in  charge  of  the 
Church  in  Ch'ing-chow  fu.  Shantung,  was  obliged  to 
go  home,  and  begged  me,  in  the  interest  of  the  young 
Church,  to  take  his  place  during  his  absence.  This  I 
was  rather  loath  to  do,  as  I  thought  the  native  Christians 
might  be  able  to  cultivate  independence  if  left  a  little 
while  by  themselves.  Yielding,  however,  to  the  repeated 
request  of  Mr.  Jones  and  two  young  colleagues  just 
arrived,  I  went.  The  distance  from  T'ai-yuan  fu  to 
Ch'ing-chow  fu  was  twenty-one  days'  journey,  and  it  was 
the  month  of  July,  the  hottest  time  of  the  year.  So 
scorching  was  the  heat  that  the  carter  one  day  cried 
out,  "  Ai  ya  Chin  t'ien  haia  ho  !  "  ("  It's  raining  fire 
to-day  !  "j 

On  the  journey  I  was  revising  some  Chinese  MSS. 
which  I  intended  to  print  immediately  after  arrival  in 
Shantung.  This  revision  took  place  night  and  morning, 
and  at  noon  when  the  mules  were  fed.  The  last  two 
days  before  reaching  Chi -nan  fu,  and  three  days  short  of 
reaching  Ch'ing-chow  fu,  I  found  myself  falling  asleep 
in  the  midst  of  my  revision.     Thinking  I  was  not  paying 


AMONGST  OFFICIALS   AND  SCHOLARS      177 

sufficient  attention  to  my  work,  I  would  walk  about  in 
order  to  wake  myself  up,  not  realizing  that  I  was 
completely  exhausted. 

14.  Dysentery  at  Chi-nan  fu. 

On  arrival  at  Chi-nan  fu,  I  put  some  of  my  books  into 
the  printer's  hands.  Before  the  day  was  over,  however, 
I  was  down  with  dysentery,  which  grew  worse  day  by  day, 
till  at  last  I  thought  my  end  was  near.  I  wrote  a 
farewell  letter  to  my  wife  in  T'ai-yuan  fu,  and  sent  a 
message  to  Jones  and  to  my  young  colleagues — "  Bury 
me  in   Ch'ing-chow  fu." 

On  receiving  this  message,  Mr.  Kitts,  our  medical  man, 
rode  on  horseback  from  Ch'ing-chow  fu,  a  three  days' 
journey,  and  arrived  in  Chi-nan  fu  in  thirty -six  hours. 
No  sooner  had  he  arrived  than  he,  too,  was  down  with 
dysentery.  The  following  day  Mr.  Whilev.'right,  my  other 
colleague,  arrived  in  Chi-nan  fu  after  thirty -six  hours'  ride 
on  horseback  through  the  heat,  and  shared  the  same 
fate  as  Mr.  Kitts.  Mrs.  Kitts,  on  hearing  that  her  husband 
was  down  with  dysentery,  travelled  from  Ch'ing-chow 
fu  in  a  chair,  and  happily  she  did  not  get  ill.  Thanks 
to  her  careful  nursing,  the  three  of  us  recovered. 

Here  I  ought  to  mention  the  great  kindness  of  the 
Governor  of  Shantung,  who,  on  hearing  of  my  illness, 
sent  an  official  to  my  inn  to  attend  to  my  wants  and 
remain  there  till  I  was  well.  When  we  recovered,  I 
went  to  thank  the  Governor  for  his  kindness.  He  replied 
that  it  was  his  duty  to  look  after  strangers,  and  he  insisted 
on  sending  four  mounted  soldiers  to  accompany  us  and 
see  us  safely  to  Ch'ing-chow  fu. 

15.  Harvest  Thanksgiving. 
On  the  way   to   Ch'ing-chow   fu   from   Chi-nan  fu   we 
spent   a   Sunday   at   an   inn   in   a   small   town.      I   asked 
the    keeper    what    kind    of    harvest    they    had    had. 
"  A  very   good  one,"   he   said. 
"Have   you   thanked   God   for   it?" 
"  No  ;    we  do  not  know  how  to  thank  Him." 
"  Do    you    think   the   people    in    the   town    would    like 
to  thank  God  for  His  goodness?  " 

12 


178  FORTY-FIVE   YEARS   IN   CHINA 

"  I    think   so,   but   they   do   not   know   how   to   do   it." 

"  Well,  if  you  go  to  the  leading  men  of  the  town,  and 
tell  them  to  come  here  by  noon  to-morrow,  I  will  show 
them  how  to  thank  God.  But  I  want  only  the  elderly 
men  and  people.  They  are  the  only  ones  to  whom  1 
wish  to  speak." 

Some  forty  or  fifty  people  came  at  noon.  I  told 
them  how  all  good  things  came  from  God,  and  that 
the  least  we  could  do  was  to  show  our  gratitude  m 
worshipping  Him.  After  a  general  talk,  I  told  them 
that  if  they  knelt,  I  would  kneel  and  speak  to  God 
on  their  behalf.  Thus  I  offered  prayer,  and  the  people 
were  as  reverent  as  if  they  were  in  the  habit  ,  of 
worshipping  all  the  days  of  their  lives.  When  my 
thanksgiving  prayer  was  over,  they  asked  me  to  teach 
them  more  of  my  religion.  I  promised  to  send  an 
evangelist  with  books  to  instruct  them.  Thus  we  parted, 
having  pledged  each  other  to  permanent  friendship  in 
the    service   of   God. 

In  due  course  I  arrived  in  Ch'ing-chow  fu.  After  a 
conference  of  many  days,  A.  G.  Jones  departed  for 
home,   and   I   took   charge  of  his  work. 

1 6.   New  Churches  ,in  Shantung. 

During  the  autumn  I  visited  the  various  Churches 
widely  scattered  over  the  counties,  preaching  and 
administering  the  Lord's  Supper  to  them.  It  was 
difficult  to  keep  those  imperfectly  acquainted  with 
Christianity  from  misunderstanding  our  rites.  A  rumour 
spread  abroad  that  I  was  giving  so  many  ounces  of 
silver  to  every  Church  member.  On  one  of  the  Christians 
inquiring  into  this  rumour,  a  non-Christian  said  he  had 
been  present  at  one  of  my  addresses  and  heard  me 
refer  to  the  division  of  the  silver.  Then  the  Christian 
replied,  "  Ah,  you  do  not  know.  The  pastor  was 
explaining  the  Parable  of  the  Talents."  Instead  of 
using  the  foreign  name  denoting  talents,  I  had  referred 
to  them  as  so   many  ounces  of  silver. 

The  most  interesting  thing  of  all  to  me  on  that  trip 
was    the    discovery    of    the    effect    of    the    preaching    of 


AMONGST   OFFICIALS  AND   SCHOLARS      179 

one  man  with  whom  I  had  had  only  three  or  four  inter- 
views, five  years  previously.  He  liad  come  to  see  me, 
saying  that  he  wished  to  learn  our  doctrine.  I  had  told 
him  to  commit  to  memory  certain  passages  I  had  selected 
from  Matthew,  and  passages  at  the  beginning  of 
Revelation,   at   intervals  of  four  or   five   days   apart. 

The  last  day  I  had  seen  him  his  face  was  beaming  with 
unusual  brightness,  and  he  cried,  "  I  have  seen  Him  1 
I  have  seen  Him,  Jesus  Christ  my  Saviour  !  " 

"  What  was  He  like?  " 

He  had  given  me  practically  what  was  the  description 
of  our   Lord   in   Revelation. 

"  What  did  He  say?  " 

"  He  told  me  to  preach,  '  Repent,  for  the  Kingdom 
of  Heaven  is  at  hand.'  " 

"And    are    you    going   to    do    it?" 

"  How  dare  I  disobey  my  Lord?  " 

"  Go  then,  and  you  will  experience  a  joy  in  your 
heart  that  you  never  had  before.  The  peace  of  God 
be   with   you  1  " 

This  had  taken  place  five  years  previously,  just 
before  I  left  for  Shansi.  Now  there  were  five  new 
churches  on  the  east  of  the  river,  which  had  sprung 
up  during  my  absence.  As  I  visited  them,  I  asked  who 
had  established  them.  They  replied  :  "A  man  named 
K'u.  He  returned  from  visiting  you  in  Ch'ing-chow 
fu,  and  began  preaching  on  the  street,  saying,  *  Repent, 
for  the  Kingdom  of  Heaven  is  at  hand.'  We  became 
alarmed,  thinking  he  was  proposing  a  rebellion.  So 
we  ran  into  our  houses,  and  bolted  our  doors  for  fear 
of  compromising  ourselves  with  him.  But  that  made  no 
difiference  to  him.  He  walked  slowly  through  the  village 
preaching  about  the  Kingdom  of  God  and  the  Sermon 
on  the  Mount,  and  we,  inside  our  doors,  listened  to  his 
words." 

This  was  the  beginning  of  their  interest  in  the 
Christian  religion,  and  now  there  were  five  churches  on 
the  east  of  the  river,  all  founded  by  him,  showing  clearly 
that  the  source  of  spiritual  life  is  not  to  be  found  in 
human    learning,    but    in    communion    with    God. 


180  FORTY-FIVE   YEARS   IN   CHINA 

17.  Work  of  J.  S.  Whitewright. 

During  this  time  there  were  only  three  missionaries 
in  Ch'ing-chow  fu,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Kitts  and  Mr.  White- 
wright. I  shared  a  room  with  the  last-named.  He  was 
so  enthusiastic  a  missionary  that  there  was  no  end  to 
the  questions  he  put  in  regard  to  every  aspect  of  the 
work.  We  usually  talked  till  the  small  hours  of  the 
morning.  After  a  time,  both  of  us  fell  ill  and  we 
wondered  what  had  caused  it.  When  Kitts  heard  of 
it,  he  said  :  "It's  clear  what  is  wrong  with  you  both. 
You  work  hard  all  day,  and  then  talk  hard  all  night. 
You  do  not  get  sufficient  rest."  After  this,  instead 
of  sleeping  in  the  same  room,  Whitewright  and  I  had 
each  a  separate  room,  and  when  we  retired  at  decent 
hours  we  soon  regained  our  health. 

Shortly  after   my   departure   from   Shansi   my   enthusi- 
astic friend,  Whitewright,  opened  a  museum  in  Ch'ing- 
chow  fu   in    1887,   where   he   gave   a   course  of   lectures 
to  students.   In  1904  he  removed  to  Chi -nan  fu,  the  capital 
of  Shantung,  and  built  what   he   called   the   Chi -nan   fu 
Institute,  which  has  been  called  by  others  the  Missionary 
Museum.       It    is    very    large,    and    is    by    far    the    most 
remarkable    Institute    in    China,   and   is    probably   unique 
in  the  world.      In  it  are  two  lecture-halls  where  lectures 
and  addresses  are  given  several  times  a  day.     From  four 
hundred  to  over  a  thousand  visit  it  every  day,  and  during 
the  last  two  years  nearly  two  and  a  half  million  visitors 
have  been  through  it.     It  has  been  described  by  observers 
as    "an    attempt   to    awaken   and    educate   the    minds   of 
men    and    women    to    a    sense    of   the    greatness    of   the 
universe,   the   oneness  of  mankind,   the  relation  of  their 
own  country  to  other  countries,  the  proportionate  wealth 
of    different    countries    in    physical    products    and    the 
proportionate    measures    in    which    these    resources    are 
being    utilized,    the    mental    and    moral    status    of    the 
different  races  of  the  world,  and  a  presentation  of  some 
of   the    causes    which   have   operated    for   the   uplift   and 
degradation    of    mankind." 

The   value   of   lectures   such  as   these   impressed  itself 


AMONGST   OFFICIALS   AND   SCHOLARS      181 

on  Dr.  Wilson,  of  the  C.I.M.  in  Szechuen,  and  he  adopted 
the  same  method  during  the  'eighties  and  'nineties. 
For  the  last  few  years,  1910-15,  Professor  Robertson  has 
been  set  apart  by  the  Y.M.C.A.  to  organize  courses  of 
lectures  on  a  large  scale  with  scientific  apparatus  up 
to  date,  and  these  are  being  delivered  in  a  number  of 
provinces. 

18.  Difficulty  with  a  Magistrate. 

About  this  time  I  met  the  most  anti-foreign  and 
mischievous  official  that  I  ever  had  the  misfortune  to 
come  across,  a  man  who  did  not  seem  to  possess  the 
slightest  sense  of  fair  play.  I  had  rented  a  house  in 
one  of  the  good  streets  of  the  city  without  meeting  any 
objection  from  the  people,  when  just  at  that  time  there 
came  to  Ch'ing'-chow  fu  a  new  magistrate,  ruler  of  the 
head  county  of  the  district,  and  before  I  had  actually  taken 
jX)ssession  of  my  house  he  called  upon  me.  He  was 
a  man  of  about  forty  years  of  age,  from  the  province 
of  Chihli,  a  Doctor  of  Literature  (Chin-sze),  and  exceed- 
ingly inteUigent  and  well-informed.  After  talking  on 
general  topics  for  half  an  hour  or  so,  he  said  that  he 
had  heard  I  had  rented  a  house,  but  that  the  gentry 
in  that  street  and  some  of  my  neighbours  had  begged 
him  to  ask  me  to  give  it  up.  He  said  that  as  he 
was  a  new-comer,  he  had  not  liked  to  refuse  their  first 
request,  and  he  begged  me,  therefore,  as  a  great  favour 
to  him,  to  be  so  kind  as  to  return  the  contract  for  the 
house . 

I  told  him  I  was  greatly  surprised  at  the  attitude 
of  the  gentry,  as  there  had  been  no  objections  raised 
by  any  during  the  whole  month  of  negotiations.  At 
this  remark  he  became  very  agitated,  and  implored 
me  to  do  this  favour  for  him.  Then  I  said,  "If  I 
give  this  house  up,  will  you  find  me  quarters  elsewhere?  " 
"  But,"  he  replied,  "  you  are  well  known  in  the  city, 
and  will  doubtless  find  no  difficulty  in  getting  another 
house  to  suit  your  convenience,  while  I  am  a  stranger." 
"  And  what  if  there  should  be  an  objection  to  that 
house?  "   I  asked. 


182  FORTY-FIVE   YEARS   IN   CHINA 

"  I  will  see  to  it  that  there  will  be  no  objection, 
since  you  have  shown  yourself  so  ready  to  accede  to 
the   people's    wishes." 

At  this  assurance  I  went  to  my  room,  took  out  the 
contract,  and  handed  it  over  to  him,  for  which  he 
appeared    most    grateful. 

A  few  days  after  this  he  was  called  to  the  provincial 
capital  to  see  the  Governor,  and  within  a  fortnight 
during  his  absence  I  rented  a  house  in  a  quiet  street 
where  there  were  only  three  houses  ;  mine  being  in  the 
middle,  I  got  my  neighbours  on  the  right  and  left  to 
sign  the  contract  as  middlemen,  so  that  this  time  there 
should  be  no  complaint  from  neighbours.  According 
to  Chinese  custom,  after  obtaining  the  friendly  assent  of 
my  neighbours,  I  was  entitled  to  peaceful  occupancy 
of  the  house. 

Some  of  my  Chinese  friends,  who  had  doubted  the 
straightforwardness  of  the  magistrate's  story,  urged  me 
to  take  possession  of  the  house  before  his  return,  but 
I  refused.  "  I  gave  up  the  other  house  openly  to  him, 
and  I  shall  go  openly  into  this  one." 

In  another  fortnight  the  magistrate  returned.  Within 
two  days  he  called  on  me  again.  This  time  he  informed 
me  that  the  owner  of  this  second  house,  a  widow,  had 
come  to  him  in  great  distress,  begging  him  to  get 
me  to  give  up  the  house.  I  replied  that  I  could  not 
well  believe  that,  as  the  widow  had  been  anxious  to 
rent    her    house    to    me. 

"  But  it  is  true,"  he  said,  "  for  she  threatens  to  commit 
suicide  if  you  come  into  the  house.  You  are  a  good 
man,  and  would  not  wish  to  cause  the  death  of  any  one. 
Besides,  your  neighbours  object." 

"  That  is  impossible,  for  I  have  their  names  down 
on  my  agreement." 

From  this  I  inferred  that  no  one  was  against  me 
but  the  magistrate  himself. 

He  then  brought  out  another  argument.  "  If  you 
go  into  the  house,  mischievous  persons  might  burn  it 
down." 

I  was  astonished  at  this  threat  and  asked,   "  Did  you 


AMONGST  OFFICIALS   AND   SCHOLARS      183 

not  assure  me  there  would  be  no  trouble  in  my  getting 
another   house  ?  " 

He  admitted  that  he  had  said  so.  "  But  \vhat  can 
one  do  with  a  rowdy  rabble   who   rule  the  city?" 

"Who  rules  the   city,  the  rabble  or  you?"   I  asked. 

He  repeated  that  he  could  not  answer  for  the  conse- 
quences if  I  took  possession  of  the  house,  and  once  more 
asked   me   to    give   up   the  agreement   for   it. 

I  refused.  "  I  cannot  give  it  up  this  time.  I  agreed 
to  your  proposal  the  first  time,  but  cannot  see  any  reason 
for  returning  the  lease  now."  Further,  1  added  :  "  I  have 
already  delayed  till  your  return  before  taking  possession, 
and  unless  I  am  permitted  to  enter  the  house  in  peace 
under  your  protection,  I  will  report  the  matter  to  my 
Consul.  I  give  you  until  to-morrow  to  think  it  over. 
If  you  do  not  agree,  then  the  next  day  I  start  for  Chefoo 
to   report  the   case  in  person." 

Two  days  passed.  I  had  engaged  a  cart,  and  was 
about  to  start  when  the  magistrate  arrived,  apparently 
in  great  excitement,  as  if  the  whole  city  was  about 
to  rise  up  in  riot,  and  once  more  asked  me  to  return  the 
contract.  ■  ' 

"  I  know  the  people  are  perfectly  quiet,"  I  replied. 
"  I    can   wait   no  longer." 

With  that  I  jumped  into  the  cart  and  ordered  the 
muleteer  to  start.  I  laid  the  matter  before  the  Consul, 
who  got  the  Taotai,  who  ruled  about  thirty  counties,  to 
issue  a  proclamation  censuring  the  district  magistrate 
for  creating  trouble,  and  saying  that  I  had  a  perfect 
right  to  rent  a  house  and  reside  there  if  I  chose.  None 
of    the    officials   nor    people    were    to    molest    me. 

When  1  returned,  I  was  astonished  to  receive 
a  call,  early  the  next  morning,  from  the  magistrate. 
The  Taotai 's  proclamation  had  reached  him  some  days 
before.  His  manner  was  such  that,  to  all  appearance, 
I    might    have    been   his    best    friend    in   the    world. 

He  said  that  he  had  heard  that  I  had  a  magic-lantern. 
W'Ould  I  be  good  enough  to  let  him  see  it  ?  I  told  him 
I  could  exhibit  it  that  night.  So  he  came  again  in  the 
evening,  bringing  a  few  of  his   secretaries,  and   was  of 


184  FORTY-FIVE   YEARS   IN   CHINA 

course  greatly  pleased,  ^.s  they  were  the  first  lantern 
pictures  he  had  ever  seen.  Before  bedtime  the  whole 
city    knew    of    his    visit. 

Next  day  a  deputation  of  the  gentry  called  on  me 
to  ask  if  I  would  exhibit  the  pictures  to  them  also, 
which  I  was  glad  to  do,  as  ,1  had  really  never  had 
any  difhculty  with  the  gentry  of  the  place.  Most  of 
them  were  friends  of  mine.  Thus  the  attempt  of  the 
ofhcial  to  stir  up  the  city  against  me  ended  in  creating 
strong  sympathy  with  me,  and  indignation  against  his 
trickery. 

When  the  harvest  was  over,  and  the  winter  came  on, 
the  farmers  had  nothing  special  to  do,  so  I  invited 
the  leaders,  both  men  and  women,  of  the  various  Churches 
to  come  in  to  Ch'ing-chow  fu  to  get  special  train- 
ing. This,  together  with  the  superintendence  of  the 
Churches  and  evangelists,  occupied  all  my  time  until  the 
spring  of  1883,  when  Mr.  Huberty  James,  formerly  of 
the  China  Inland  Mission,  who  had,  when  at  home  in 
England,  joined  the  Baptist  Mission,  came  out  to  look 
after  the  Shantung  Churches.  I  was  then  free  to  return 
to  T'ai-yuan  fu. 

19.  Robbery  on  Return  to  Shansi. 
On  my  way  back,  in  Chihli,  a  band  of  robbers  raided 
our  inn  just  before  the  dawn  of  day  one  morning. 
I  had  two  carts,  and  there  were  five  or  six  other  carts 
belonging  to  fellow-travellers.  The  robbers  opened  the 
boxes  in  all  the  carts,  scattering  clothing  and  papers 
all  over  the  courtyard.  When  I  got  up,  I  found  one 
poor  fellow  distracted  at  not  being  able  to  find  a  bill 
for  3,000  taels  which  he  was  carrying  to  his  master  in 
Peking.  Happily,  however,  when  daylight  came,  and 
he  made  a  thoirough  search  amongst  all  the  strewn 
belongings,  he  found  it  trampled  under  foot  in  the  court- 
yard, much  to  his  joy.  As  for  me,  one  of  my  cases 
had  disappeared  altogether  from  the  cart.  We  traced 
the  footsteps  of  the  robbers  outside  to  a  place  where 
they  had  escaped  over  a  hig^h  wall.  On  the  other  side 
we    found    two    deep    footprints    made    by    a    man    who 


AMONGST  OFFICIALS  AND   SCHOLARS      185 

had  evidently  jumped  down  with  my  heavy  case.  In 
the  dim  light  of  the  courtyard  he  must  have  seen  some- 
thing shining  in  that  case,  and  thinking  it  was  silver, 
he  had  carried  it  off  as  the  greatest  of  his  hauls.  How 
great  must  have  been  his  chagrin,  after  jumping  from 
the  wall  and  running  away  with  the  heavy  case  on  his 
back,  to  find  on  opening  it  that  it  contained  only  tins 
of    condensed    milk  ! 

With  no  other  mishap  on  the  road  I  reached  T'ai-yuan 
fu,  after  nine  months'  absence,  to  find  a  little  daughter 
six  months  old  awaiting  me. 

20.   Death   of  Dr.   Schofield. 

On  August  I,  1883,  our  little  community  in  T'ai-yuan 
fu  suffered  a  great  loss  in  the  death  of  Dr.  Schofield 
from  typhus  fever,  caught  from  one  of  his  patients. 
As  I  had  had  experience  of  the  fever  before,  I  helped 
Mrs.  Schofield  to  nurse  him,  but  all  our  loving  care 
was  of  no  avail.  He  was  a  man  of  great  intellectual 
ability,  possessing  a  most  beautiful  Christian  character, 
and    was    beloved    by   all    who    knew    him. 

In  1884  Prince  Kung  was  superseded  by  his  brother, 
Prince  Ch'un,  and  the  war-like  anti-foreign  party  thus 
gained  the  ascendance.  Prince  Kung's  policy  was 
considered  by  some  members  of  the  Government  to 
be  one  of  timidity,  unworthy  of  a  great  nation  like 
China. 

21.  Effect  of  the  Taiping  Rebellion. 
Although  the  Taiping  rebellion  had  been  crushed  six 
years  before  my  arrival  in  China,  its  baleful  effect  against 
the  spread  of  Christianity  continued  so  powerful  a  factor 
that  it  must  be  mentioned.  The  movement  originated 
about  1 8  5 1  with  Hung  Hsui  Chuen,  a  Kwangsi  man 
who,  having  come  under  the  influence  of  Christians  in 
Canton,  founded  a  religious  sect  for  the  worship  of  the 
one  true  God.  Unfortunately,  Hung,  like  the  Moslems, 
could  not  distinguish  the  use  of  art  in  pictures  and 
sculptures  from  idolatry,  and  in  obedience  to  the 
commandment   of    Moses,   he   denounced  all   respect   for 


186  FORTY-FIVE   YEARS   IN   CHINA 

these  as  idolatrous.  The  hostile  attitude  of  his  followers 
towards  all  temples  developed  into  fanaticism,  and  as 
the  membership  rapidly  increased,  the  authorities  grew 
alarmed,  seized  Hung,  and  threw  him  into  prison.  His 
followers,  believing  him  to  be  innocent,  liberated  him, 
and  were  declared  rebels  by  the  Government.  From 
this  time  onwards  the  movement  became  anti -dynastic  in 
character,  and  attracted  large  numbers  of  adherents. 
Hung  Hsui  Chuen  assumed  the  name  of  T'ien  Huang 
(Heavenly  Emperor),  and  led  his  forces  northward  to 
Wuchang  and  then  down  the  Yangtze  to  Chekiang, 
sacking  cities  and  carrying  destruction  and  ruin  every- 
where. He  then  made  Nanking  his  capital,  and  directed 
his  forces  northward  to  Peking. 

Hung's  cousin,  Kan  Wang,  was  a  Christian,  and 
earnestly  endeavoured  to  turn  Hung  from  his  extravagant 
pretensions  and  degeneracy.  The  General  of  the  Taiping 
forces  was  Chung  Wang,  an  extremely  able  man.  Over 
his  men  he  exerted  an  extraordinary  influence.  I  was 
told  by  rriy  native  pastor,  Ch'ing,  who  had  formerly 
been  associated  with  the  Taiping  rebels,  that  such  was 
the  efifect  this  General  produced  on  his  soldiers  that 
whatever  orders  he  issued,  however  seemingly  impossible, 
were  instantly  carried  out. 

The  Americans  Burgovine  and  Ward  and  the  British 
Gordon  helped  the  Chinese  Government  against  the 
rebels,  and  it  was  to  Gordon  that  Kan  Wang  and 
Chung  Wang  surrendered  themselves  and  so  ended  the 
rebellion.  The  number  of  lives  lost  during  the  thirteen 
years  of  the  Taiping  rule  has  been  variously  estimated 
at  from  twenty  to  fi^fty  millions.  Small  wonder  that 
there  remained  a  legacy  of  hatred  against  Christianity, 
a  hatred   which  has   scarcely   yet   melted   away. 

22.  Hostile  Attitude  of  Government  and 
Persecution  of  Christians. 

For  a  long  time  the  Chinese  Church  throughout  the 
Empire  had  been  subjected  to  all  kinds  of  interference, 
annoyance,  and  persecution,  both  on  the  part  of  the 
people    and    on    the    part    of    the    officials    and    gentry. 


AMONGST   OFFICIALS   AND   SCHOLARS      187 

The  Churches  in  Shantung  were  so  constantly  worried 
by  official  tyrannies  that,  at  the  request  of  Alfred 
Jones  at  home,  the  Baptist  Missionary  Society  wrote 
to  Mr.  James  and  myself  to  go  to  Peking  and  inter- 
view the  newly  appointed  Minister,  Sir  Harry  Parkes,  on 
the  matter  of  religious  liberty. 

The  following  points  may  serve  to  show  how  impera- 
tive it  was  that  action  should  be  taken  to  secure  toleration 
from   the    Chinese    Government  : — 

1.  The  famous  hostile  memorandum  of  the  Foreign  Office  after  the 
Tientsin  massacre  in  1870  plainly  showed  the  attitude  of  the  Chinese 
Government.     (See  Williams's  "  Middle  Kingdom,"  vol.  ii.  p.  707.) 

2.  Viceroy  Li  Hung-chang  of  Chihli  had  written  the  Preface  to  a 
book  practically  proscribing  Christianity, 

3.  Viceroy  Tso  of  Shcnsi  and  Kansu  would  not  permit  a  missionary 
to  reside  in  Sian-fu. 

4.  The  Governor  of  Shansi,  Chang  Chih-tung,  when  an  appeal  was 
made  to  him  on  behalf  of  Christians  suffering  persecution,  replied  that 
such  requests  grated  on  his  ears. 

5.  When  Viceroy  in  Canton,  Chang  Chih-tung  issued  instructions 
to  all  subordinates  to  delay  the  settlement  of  all  missionary  cases,  with 
the  result  that  soon  there  were  attacks  on  eighteen  chapels  in  the 
province  of  Kwangtung. 

6.  The  Shantung  Governors  in  succession  refused  to  settle  mis- 
sionary troubles. 

7.  Admiral  Peng,  of  the  Yangtze,  repeated  in  substance  the  charges 
made  in  the  Memorandum  of  the  Foreign  Office. 

8.  The  Provincial  Chancellor  of  Shansi  instructed  professors  and 
students  that  if  they  adopted  the  Christian  religion  they  would  forfeit 
their  degrees. 

9.  The  Prefect  of  Te-hgan  fu  in  Hupeh  chose  as  subjects  for  essays 
at  the  Triennial  Examination  attended  by  some  ten  thousand  candidates 
the  two  texts,  "What  the  people  delight  in,  I  delight  in"  (from 
the  "Ta  Hsueh  "  or  "  Great  Learning  ")  and  "  Drive  out  all  heresies" 
(from  the  Sacred  Edict).  As  a  result  of  these  subjects,  there  was  an 
attack  on  a  missionary's  house,  which  was  torn  down,  the  missionary 
being  beaten. 

10.  A  Sui-ts'ai  accused  some  Christians  of  certain  crimes  and  they 
were  arrested,  but  though  proof  was  given  that  they  were  innocent, 
no  reproof  was  administered  to  the  scholar  for  his  false  charges. 

11.  A  magistrate  in  Teh-chow  in  Shantung  exacted  a  promise  from 
the  townsmen  that  they  would  insult  the  first  foreigner  that  came  by. 

12.  Legation  secretaries  and  consuls  complained  that  there  was 
increasing  difficulty  in  the  way  of  settling  missionary  cases. 

13.  The  Government  published  a  book  on  missionary  cases  in  which 


188  FORTY-FIVE   YEARS  IN   CHINA 

the  blame  of  all   troubles  was  put   on   the  foreigners.      This  volume 
was  circulated  as  a  Book  of  Precedents. 

14.  In  Shantung  a  magistrate  said,  when  one  of  the  Christians  was 
brought  before  him  :  "  You  are  born  in  China,  you  eat  Chinese  food, 
you  wear  Chinese  clothes,  you  are  protected  by  the  Chinese  Emperor  ; 
whatever  makes  you  learn  anything  from  foreign  devils?" 

An  American  Consul  told  me  that  a  Taotai  had  once 
remarked  to  him  that  he  carried  out  strictly  what  was 
on  the  Statute  Book  of  Emperor  Tao  Kwang — that  is  to 
say,  that  he  would  not  recognize  the  treaties,  but  would 
follow  the   Chinese  laws   preceding   them. 

The  above  points,  with  the  exception  of  the  memoran- 
dum, referred  to  incidents  connected  with  Protestant 
Mission  work.  As  a  result  there  followed  destruction 
of  chapels  all  over  the  Empire,  abuse  and  robbery  of 
thousands  of  Christians,  and  the  beating  of  missionaries. 

23.  Visit  to  Peking  with  Mr.  James.      1884. 

It  was  high  time,  therefore,  that  the  attention  of  our 
British  Minister  should  be  called  to  this  state  of  things, 
especially  as  the  Governor  of  Fuhkien,  Ting  I  Chang, 
had  reported  to  Peking  that  the  chief  source  of  mis- 
sionary troubles  originated  not  with  the  foreigner,  but 
in  the  unjust  treatment  of  the  Christians  by  the  officials. 

On  arriving  in  Peking,  Mr.  James  and  I  found 
that  Sir  Harry  Parkes  had  gone  to  Korea  to  ratify 
a  treaty  with  the  Emperor  of  the  "  Hermit  State." 
While  waiting  in  Peking  for  his  return  we  decided 
to  endeavour  to  establish  an  Evangelical  Alliance  similar 
to  that  which  had  been  so  successful  in  putting  an  end 
to  persecutions  in  other  countries,  in  the  hope  that  it 
might  prove  of  like  service  to  China.  We  called  a 
meeting  of  all  the  Peking  missionaries,  and  I  was 
appointed  secretary. 

24.  Establishment  of  Evangelical  Alliance. 

1884. 

Endeavours  had  been  previously  made  in  Shanghai 
to  form  an  Alliance,  but  they  had  failed  because  the 
various    missionaries    could    not    agree    upon   a    common 


AMONGST  OFFICIALS  AND  SCHOLARS      189 

creed.  We  had  to  face  the  same  difficulty  in  Peking, 
and  had  some  nine  meetings  from  first  to  last.  Dr. 
Edkins,  of  the  London  Mission,  with  whom  1  was  staying, 
had  back  numbers  of  the  Evangelical  Alliance  Magazine, 
extending  for  many  years.  In  these  I  found  that  the 
various  nationalities  who  were  members  of  the  Alliance, 
though  agreeing  in  general,  subscribed  to  very  different 
creeds.  I  picked  out  the  shortest  of  these  to  present 
to  the  Peking  missionary  body  as  most  likely  to  have 
fewer  controversial  points.  On  this  creed  we  finally 
agreed    to    found    the    China    Evangelical    Alliance. 

Later,  I  wrote  to  the  Chinese  Recorder  urging  the 
formation  of  branches  of  the  Alliance  in  each  province 
where  Missions  were  at  work,  so  that  an  Executive 
Committee  in  each  might  act  for  all  Protestant 
Missions  and  interview  the  officials  on  the  subject  of 
toleration . 

The  Alliance  now  exists  to  hold  a  week  of  prayer 
at  the  commencement  of  every  New  Year,  but  for  the 
other  object  of  its  formation,  that  of  averting  persecu- 
tions, it  has  accomplished  little  in  China. 

Amongst  the  Peking  missionaries  I  raised  another 
question — namely,  that  our  status  as  missionaries  was  very 
ill -defined,  resulting  in  misconception  on  the  part  of 
the  Chinese.  Out  of  humility  we  gave  ourselves  the 
name  of  "  Hsien-seng."  The  Chinese  concluded  from 
this  that  we  were  private  individuals,  not  realizing  that 
we  were  the  representatives  of  immense  institutions  for 
propagating  Christianity  throughout  the  world.  Foreign, 
civil,  and  military  officials  had  their  ranks  defined,  and 
met  Chinese  officials  of  the  same  standing.  Missionaries 
in  various  places  felt  the  anomaly  of  the  situation,  and 
the  custom  of  calling  themselves  "  Mu  Shih  "  spread 
extensively.  But  this  designation  was,  properly  speak- 
ing, "  pastor,"  and  not  "  missionary  "  at  all.  In  written 
documents  the  term  "  kiao-ssu,"  or  "  religious  scholar,"- 
came  to  be  generally  employed.  But  no  agreement  was 
arrived  at. 

In  the  'nineties  the  Chinese  Government,  at  the 
request  of  the  Roman   Catholics,  fixed  the  status  of  the 


190  FORTY-FIVE   YEARS   IN   CHINA 

priests  and  dignitaries  in  correspondence  with  the  ranks 
of  civil  Chinese  authorities .  Similar  treatment  was  offered 
to  the  Protestant  missionaries,  most,  of  whom  at  once 
refused  to  receive  any  such  status. 

The  Roman  Catholics  not  only  assumed  official  status, 
but  employed  it  politically,  bringing  their  followers  into 
frequent  collisions  with  the  non -Christians.  To  end  these 
troubles  Dr.  Morrison  recently  recommended  the  Chinese 
Government  to  withdraw  the  rank  conferred  on  Roman 
Catholics. 

25.  Remarkable  Korean   Proclamation   against 
Christianity. 

Through  the  kindness  of  Mr.  Holcombe,  Secretary 
of  the  United  States  Legation,  I  succeeded  in  obtaining 
a  copy  of  a  Korean  proclamation  on  Christian  Missions, 
based  on  the  attitude  of  the  Chinese  Government,  whose 
example  Korea  wished  to  follow.  This  had  been  pub- 
lished about  1864,  and  was  found  by  the  Americans 
when  taking  some  Korean  ports  in  1874.  The  proclama- 
tion declared  : — 

1.  That  God  was  to  be  served  by  virtue  and  not  by  the  begging  of 
favours  and  forgiveness  of  sins. 

2.  That  God  was  a  Spirit,  but  Jesus  Christ  was  a  man  among  men  ; 
how  therefore  could  He  be  God  ? 

3.  That  priests  affirmed  that  the  soul  was  more  important  than  the 
body.  As  they  are  the  teachers  of  men's  souls,  they  must  be  obeyed 
rather  than  the  parents  and  teachers  of  men's  bodies. 

4.  That  ancestral  rites,  which  existed  for  the  purpose  of  showing 
gratitude  to  ancestors  and  keeping  them  in  memory,  were  forbidden 
by  the  foreign  priests. 

5.  That  the  Pope  claimed  supreme  obedience  over  and  above  that 
given  to  rulers  ;  he  was  therefore  like  a  robber  or  rebel  disturbing  the 
peace  of  nations. 

6.  That  God  had  created  mankind  male  and  female,  but  the  priests 
exhorted  ceUbacy,  paid  no  proper  reverence  to  prince  and  father,  nor 
due  regard  to  husband  and  wife. 

7.  That  the  teachings  about  the  Holy  Virgin,  spiritual  fathers, 
baptism,  confirmation,  and  salvation  were  lies  to  deceive  the 
people. 

8.  That  since  Jesus  died  miserably.  Christians  must  be  drunk  or 
mad  to  say  they  fear  no  death. 


AMONGST   OFFICIALS   AND   SCHOLARS      191 

This  document  showed  how  carefully  the  Korean 
Government  had  studied  the  Roman  system  of 
propaganda. 

26.  Sir  Robert  Hart's  Reform  Scheme. 

While  in  Peking,  Sir  Robert  Hart  was  good  enough 
to  show  me  a  draft  of  a  scheme  for  the  benefit  of 
China,  which  consisted  of  seven  points  : — 

1.  Securing  of  able  men. 

2.  Opening  of  mines. 

3.  River  improvements. 

4.  Railways. 

5.  Organization  of  a  postal  system. 

6.  Government  banks. 

7.  Organization  of  navy. 

27.  My  Various  Reform  Schemes. 

At  his  request  I  showed  him  a  summary  of  the 
suggestions  for  reform  which  I  had  submitted  to  various 
officials  at  different  times  :— 

1.  To  Governor  Ting  Pao-chen,of  Shantung,  I  suggested  the  opening 
of  mines  and  the  manufacture  of  cotton  goods  in  China, 

2.  To  Governor  Tseng  Kwo-ch'uen,  of  Shansi,  the  building  of 
railways  so  as  to  check  famines. 

3.  To  Governor  Tseng,  Li  Hung-chang,  and  Tso  Tsung-t'ang 
and  the  Foreign  Office,  that  the  introduction  of  modern  education 
would  save  China  from  foreign  wars  and  indemnities. 

4.  To  Governor  Chang  Chih-tung  I  had  explained — 

(a)  The  revolution  in  industry  produced  by  Bessemer's  discovery 
in  making  steel  and  the  facilities  in  Shansi  for  making  rails 
for  all  the  coming  railways  of  China. 

(&)  I  urged  the  opening  of  mines. 

5.  To  Sir  Harry  Parkcs  and  Yen  King-ming,  one  of  the  members  of 
the  Foreign  Ofiice,  I  pointed  out  the  principles  of  religious  liberty  by 
which  religious  dissensions  and  strife  were  averted, 

6.  To  Sir  Robert  Hart  himself  I  proposed — 

(a)  That  a  Commission  headed  by  a  Chinese  prince,  assisted  by 
some  leading  statesmen  like  Li,  Tso,  and  Tseng,  should  make 
a  tour  round  the  world  to  see  the  conditions  of  other 
countries. 

(6)  That  a  Commission  consisting  of  a  number  of  the  leading 
scholars  of  the  Empire  should  go  abroad  and  report  on  the 
educational  systems  of  the  world. 


192  FORTY-FIVE   YEARS   IN   CHINA 

(c)  That  a  Commission  of  the  most  intelligent  and  devout  should 
travel  abroad  to  study  the  religious  conditions  of  the 
world. 

(rf)  That  a  Commission  should  report  on  the  industrial  conditions 
of  other  countries. 

(e)  That  a  Commission  be  sent  to  study  the  various  means  of  com- 
munication in  other  countries. 

(/)  That  a  Bureau  be  established  in  Peking  for  making  known  these 
reports  throughout  the  provinces. 

Such  a  scheme  would  in  twenty  years  be  productive 
of  great  and  beneficial  results  in  China. 

28.  Interview  with   Sir  Harry  Parkes,   Peking. 

1884. 

When  Sir  Harry  Parkes  returned  from  Korea,  he  gave 
careful  attention  to  the  complaints  which  Mr.  James  and 
I  made  of  the  persecutions  of  the  Christians  in  Shantung, 
and  suggested  that  we  should  draft  a  proclamation  such  as 
we  would  desire  the  Chinese  Government  to  issue,  in 
order  that  he  might,  on  the  next  serious  case  which 
might  occur,  ask  the  Foreign  Office  to  issue  an  edict 
to  that  effect  throughout  the  Empire. 

He  was  most  impatient  with  the  backward  attitude 
of  China  as  compared  with  Japan,  and  said  it  was  most 
painful  to  have  no  social  intercourse  with  the  Chinese 
statesmen,  but  only  discussions  of  cases  in  the  Foreign 
Office,  where  each  side  strove  to  do  its  best  for  its 
own  nationals  and  endeavoured  to  obstruct  the  others. 
I  recounted  how  I  had  no  difficulty  in  T'ai-yuan  fu, 
where  I  had  friendly  relations  with  the  officials,  and 
ventured  to  sug'gest  that  the  officials  in  Peking  might 
respond  if  appealed  to  in  the  same  way.  Next  week 
I  met  him  on  the  street,  radiant  with  satisfaction.  He 
had  invited  some  of  the  leading  statesmen  to  dine  with 
him  on  the  Queen's  birthday,  and  all  the  invitations  had 
been  accepted.  (See  "  Life  of  Sir  Harry  Parkes,"  by 
Stanley  Lane-Poole,  p.  396.) 

During  this  time,  also,  I  prepared  a  pamphlet  on 
religious  liberty  as  viewed  by  the  different  nations  of 
the   world.      This   was   meant   for  circulation  among  the 


MR.   AND  MRS.    RICHARD   IN    U 


AMONGST   OFFICIALS   AND   SCHOLARS      193 

higher  officials,  as  much  of  their  opposition  arose   from 
ignorance  of  the  whole  question. 

Having  handed  over  our  draft  of  a  proclamation  to 
Sir  Harry,  Mr.  James  and  I  returned  to  our  respective 
provinces,  he  to  Shantung,  I  to  Shansi.  I  took  my 
return  route  via  Kalgan,  the  gate  to  Mongoha,  coming 
down  through  the  north  of  the  province  to  T'ai-yuan 
fu.  On  this  journey  also  I  carried  with  me  an  aneroid, 
and  took  elevations  on  the  road  in  the  hope  that  the 
record  would  stimulate  the  Chinese  authorities  in  Shansi 
to  build  railways  at  their  earliest  convenience.  When 
I  arrived  in  the  city,  I  had  been  absent  for  five  months. 

29.  Proposals   to   Shansi   Missionaries.      1884. 

In  August  1884  I  proposed  a  Conference  of  the 
Shansi  workers  in  order  to  extend  missionary  operations. 
Having  distributed  Christian  tracts  and  Gospels  in  each 
of  the  108  counties  of  the  province,  it  was  necessary 
that  we  should  have  permanent  systematic  work  in  the 
main  centres — 

1.  By  organizing  an  Evangelical  Alliance  with  an  Executive  Com- 

mittee of  three  persons  to  approach  the  Government  on 
behalf  of  all  Missions  in  regard  to  persecutions  and  secure 
religious  liberty  in  our  work. 

2.  By  publishing  better  tracts  to  meet  the  needs  of  the  province. 

3.  By  engaging  at    least    ten    evangelists    to  assist   each    foreign 

missionary  (for  it  was  well  known  to  every  experienced 
worker  that  most  of  the  converts  were  brought  in  by  natives 
and  not  by  the  foreigner). 

4.  By  establishing  colleges   in  ten  of  the  leading  provinces,  where 

a  hundred  Chinese  graduates  would  be  given  a  three  years' 
course  in  Western  learning. 

At    this    time    also    I    planned    to    form    a    Christian 
Literature   Society — 

(a)  To    supply    such    Christian    literature    as    should    induce    the 
Chinese  to  assist  in  all  works  of  real  benefit  to  the  Chinese. 
{b)  To  encourage  goodwill  and  mutual  respect  among  all  nations, 
(c)  To   enlighten  China  on  all  topics  of  real  benefit  to  her. 


13 


CHAPTER    VII  ; 

FIRST  FURLOUGH.     1885-6 

I.  Journey  to  Coast.   Meeting  with  A.  G.  Jones. 

In  the  autumn  of  1884  I  felt  that  I  had  come  to  the 
end  of  a  chapter  in  my  work  in  China,  and  as  I  wished 
to  commence  a  new  scheme  of  work  it  was  necessary 
to  lay  the   matter  before  the  Society  at   home. 

With  my  wife  and  four  children  I  started  for  the 
coast.  On  arriving  in  Tientsin  in  a  native  boat  we 
thought  of  remaining  in  it  while  waiting  for  the  Shanghai 
steamer,  as  it  would  be  less  expensive  than  a  foreign 
hotel.  But  an  old  friend  whom  we  had  known  in 
Chef 00,  Mr.  Edward  Cousins,  agent  of  Jardine,  Mathe- 
son  &  Co.,  insisted  on  our  accepting  his  hospitality. 

In  Shanghai  we  met  Mr.  Jones,  who  had  arrived  with 
a  large  party  of  new  missionaries  from  home  for  the 
Baptist  Mission,  and  I  had  some  days'  conference  with 
him  about  his  experience  with  the  Committee  and  with 
the  Churches  at  home,  and  about  future  work  in  China. 

2.  Visit  to  Nanking  with  David  Hill.      1884. 

After  Jones  had  left,  my  dear  friend  David  Hill 
arrived  from  Hankow  in  order  to  see  us  again  before 
going  home.  Both  of  us  were  troubled  by  the  con- 
tinued hostile  attitude  of  the  Chinese  authorities  towards 
Christian  Missions,  and  we  thought  it  might  be  an  oppor- 
tune time  to  go  to  Nanking  and  see  the  Viceroy,  Tseng 
Kwo-ch'uen,  who  had  been  Governor  in  Shansi  during' 
the  famine -time  and  with  whom  we  had  had  frequent 
intercourse.  We  saw  him  at  Nanking,  but,  whilst 
generally   friendly,    he    was   not   in   a   mood   to   take   up 

194 


FIRST   FURLOUGH  195 

the  question  of  religious  liberty.  This  was  no  small 
disappointment  to  us,  for  not  only  had  many  missionaries 
helped  in  famine  relief  in  several  provinces,  but  many 
had  lost  their  lives  from  famine  fever. 

3.  Finding  of  "  The  Awakening  of  Faith." 

It  was  during  this  visit  to  Nanking  that  we  met  the 
Buddhist  bookseller  Mr.  Yang,  an  extremely  intelligent 
man  who  had  been  converted  from  Confucianism.  He 
had  visited  Europe  with  Marquis  Tseng  as  an  Attache 
to  the  Chinese  Embassy,  and  had  met  such  men  as 
Max  Mtiller,  Bunyo  Nanjo,  of  Japan,  and  Julien,  of 
Paris. 

I  asked  him  :  "  How  is  it  that  you,  a  Confucianist 
with  a  Sui-ts'ai  degree,  who  has  seen  so  much  of  the 
world,  should  circulate  Buddhist  books?" 

"  I  am  surprised,"  he  answered,  "  that  you,  being 
a  missionary,  should  ask  that  question.  Do  you  not 
know  that  Confucianism  shirks  some  of  the  great 
questions  of   life  ?  " 

"That  is  true.  But  does  Buddhism  answer  them?" 
I   asked. 

"  Certainly,"  he  replied,  "  and  I  will  show  you  the 
book  which   converted  me  to   Buddhism." 

It  was  "  K'i  Shin  Lun  "  ("  The  Awakening  of 
Faith").  I  took  it,  and  bought  a  number  of  other 
Buddhist  books   which  he  recommended  to  me. 

I  sat  up  until  the  small  hours  of  the  morning  reading 
the  book  which  had  converted  the  Confucianist  to 
Buddhism.  At  length  I  called  out  to  Hill,  who  was 
lying  down  in  the  same  room  :  "  Listen  !  This  is  a 
Christian  book.  Though  the  terms  are  Buddhist,  the 
thought  is   Christian." 

4.  Storm  on  Voyage  Home. 

In  the  beginning  of  1885  we  sailed  for  England 
in  the  Ajax,  of  the  Holt  line  of  steamers.  In  the  Bay 
of  Biscay  we  encountered  a  terrific  storm.  The  wind 
blew  a  hurricane  and  the  waves  ran  high.  The  ship 
was   heavily   laden   with   ingots   of  tin.      For   three   days 


196  FORTY-FIVE   YEARS   IN   CHINA 

we  were  in  the  utmost  danger.  We  were  kept  below,  and 
listened  to  the  waves  hurling  themselves  on  the  deck 
in  tons  of  water,  and  the  continual  swish  of  the  sea 
overhead  made  us  almost  imagine  we  were  at  the  bottom 
of  the  ocean.  One  night  the  front  hatch  was  washed 
from  its  place  along  the  deck,  and  the  water  poured 
into  the  hold.  The  captain  called  on  the  sailors  to 
replace  it,  but  not  one  moved,  afraid  of  the  heavy  seas 
breaking  over  the  vessel.  The  captain  then  ordered 
the  engines  to  stop,  which  eased  the  motion  of  the  ship 
a  little.  Once  more  he  called  to  the  sailors,  "  Now,  boys, 
try  it  !  "  They  did  so,  and  most  nobly  secured  it  in 
its  place. 

Next  morning  when  I  went  up  to  the  saloon  for 
breakfast  I  found  the  captain,  who  had  a  very  un- 
pleasant temper  and  never  seemed  happy  unless  he  was 
irritating  the  passengers  or  officers,  sitting  on  the  floor 
of  the  saloon  with  a  Bible  on  his  knees.  On  seeing 
me,  his  face  filled  with  shame.  There  was  no  break- 
fast cooked  that  morning,  the  cook  having  been  unable 
to  prepare  anything,  but  we  did  the  best  we  could  with 
biscuits,  butter,  and  cheese.  The  same  high  sea  con- 
tinued all  day  long,  and  the  poor  vessel  was  driven 
desperately  in  the  midst  of  the  storm.  Late  in  the 
afternoon  there  was  a  shout  among  the  sailors,  who, 
pointing  to  a  patch  of  blue  sky,  declared  that  we  were 
through  the  worst.  By  night  we  were  in  the  English 
Channel,  saved  as  by  a  miracle. 

5.  Annual  B.M.S.  Meeting. 

Immediately  after  our  arrival  in  England  the  annual 
meeting  of  the  Baptist  Missionary  Society  was  held  in 
Exeter  Hall,  and  Mr.  J.  H.  Shakespeare,  then  of  Norwich, 
Mr.  Thomas  J.  Comber,  and  1  were  the  speakers.  Mr. 
Comber  had  a  wonderful  tale  to  tell  of  his  work  in 
Africa,  and  told  it  with  a  grace  that  was  most  capti- 
vating. Mr.  Shakespeare  in  his  speech  referred  to  my 
work  in   China  in  a  most  appreciative  manner. 

When  I  rose,  I  did  not  dare  to  speak  without  a 
manuscript,  for  as  1  had  spent  some  twelve  years  of  my 


FIRST  FURLOUGH  197 

life  speaking  Chinese,  I  felt  that  my  English  was  im- 
perfect. As  I  came  after  two  such  eloquent  speakers, 
and  the  evening  was  late,  the  audience  soon  became 
restless  and  began  to  disperse.  At  the  close  I  felt  that 
I  had  ruined  the  meeting,  and  apologized  to  Mr.  Baynes, 
the  secretary.  He  with  his  usual  kindly  manner  replied, 
"  Never  mind  ;    it  will  read  well." 

When  the  report  of  the  annual  meeting  appeared, 
the  Christian  World  had  a  leader  calling  attention  to 
the  fact  that  from  the  speeches  of  Comber  and  myself  it 
was  evident  that  the  emphasis  in  Christian  Missions  had 
changed.  Formerly  the  stress  had  been  laid  upon  saving 
the  heathen  from  the  sufferings  of  hell  in  the  next  world, 
now  foreign  Missions  existed  also  to  save  the  heathen 
from  the  hell  of  suffering  in  this  world. 

6.  Appeal  for  more  Workers. 
Mr.  Jones  had  gone  home,  owing  to  business  afifairs, 
within  six  years  of  his  arrival  in  China,  and  had  described 
to  the  Committee  the  large  numbers  of  members  and 
inquirers  we  had  at  that  time,  greater  than  those  of 
any  other  Protestant  Mission  in  China.  He  had  been 
successful  in  arousing  deep  interest  in  Mission  work 
in  China,  the  most  civilized  of  all  non-Christian  nations. 
He  had  pleaded  for  a  large  reinforcement  of  missionaries 
to  carry  on  the  work  in  the  ten  or  twelve  counties 
which  could  be  reached  from  Ch'ing-chow  fu  as  a  centre. 
In  answer  to  his  request  the  Committee  projnised  to 
send  twelve  men  to  Shantung  and  six  to  Shansi. 
When  I  arrived,  I  spoke  to  the  Committee  of  the 
1 08  counties  in  each  of  which  we  in  Shansi  had 
commenced  work.  If  Shantung  were  receiving  a  re- 
inforcement of  twelve,  Shansi,  a  province  of  equal  size 
to  it,  was  entitled  to  no  less. 

7.  Educational  Scheme   Proposed  to  B.M.S. 

1885. 

I  had  a  wider  vision  than  even  the  two  provinces 
of  Shantung  and  Shansi,  and  wished  all  the  missionary 
societies  to  unite  in  establishing  a  high -class  missionary 


198  FORTY-FIVE   YEARS   IN   CHINA 

college  in  each  provincial  capital,  beginning  with  the 
maritime  provinces,  in  the  hope  of  influencing  the  leaders 
of  the  Empire  to  accept  Christianity. 

I  printed  a  pamphlet  entitled  "  Fifteen  Years'  Mission 
Work  in  China,"  which  was  circulated  amongst  the 
members  of  the  Baptist  Missionary  Committee,  in  which 
I  pleaded  for  a  scheme  to  bring  about  the  national 
conversion  of  China.  I  found,  however,  that  my  use 
of  this  expression,  "  national  conversion,"  led  some 
people  to  think  that  my  intention  was  to  bring  about 
an  Established  Church  in  China  similar  to  the  institu- 
tion of  the  English  Church,  with  its  consequent  dis- 
abilities for  Nonconformists. 

Later  on  I  prepared  another  paper,  suggesting  new 
educational  and  evangelistic  methods,  carefully  avoid- 
ing the  word  "  national."  This  was  the  scheme  pub- 
lished in  "  Conversion  by  the  Million,"  vol.  ii.  p.  60. 
It  was  printed  and  circulated  amongst  the  members  of 
the  Missionary  Committee. 

On  its  first  consideration  by  the  B.M.S.  China  Com- 
mittee it  was  decided  that  they  could  not  recommend 
the  scheme,  as  their  funds  would  not  allow  them  to 
embark  on  so  expensive  a  project.  But  the  unexpected 
advocacy  of  a  generous  member  of  the  General  Com- 
mittee secured  for  my  proposals  the  respite  of  delay 
and  reconsideration  at  a  later  meeting. 

Meanwhile  I  was  engaged  in  deputation  work  up  and 
down  the  country,  and  until  the  Committee  had  approved 
of  my  scheme  I  felt  I  could  not  publicly  advocate  it 
in  the  Churches.  But  I  spoke  of  it  to  individual  friends. 
I  found  a  number  who  were  in  full  sympathy  with  it, 
on  the  ground  that  my  Mission  policy  was  practically 
on  the  same  lines  as  Carey's. 

8.  Rejection  of  Scheme  a  Bitter  Disappointment. 

At  the  next  meeting  of  the  General  Committee  my 
proposals  were  brought  up  again,  but  the  judgment  of 
the  Committee  was  that  my  scheme  was  far  too  great 
for  their  funds.  The  rejection  of  it  caused  me  bitter 
disappointment. 


FIRST  FURLOUGH  199 

9.  Suggestion  for  Improved  Mission  Methods. 

I  then  wrote  a  pamphlet  entitled  "  Wanted,  Good 
Samaritans  for  China."  '  In  this,  as  in  other  papers, 
I  laid  stress  on  three  matters. 

Firstly,  that  it  was  essential  that  each  new  missionary, 
in  addition  to  learning  the  language,  should  be  required 
to  study  the  native  religions  and  Mission  methods,  and 
thereby   multiply   his    efficiency. 

Secondly,  I  urged  the  necessity  of  employing  a  large 
staff  of  native  workers,  proving  that  Mission  work  could 
be  carried  out  with  eightfold  more  efficiency  and  economy 
by  Chinese  than  by  engaging  foreigners  alone.  The 
Church  Missionary  Society  had  already,  by  adopting  this 
principle  in  the  'seventies,  made  their  work  a  signal 
success.  At  the  present  time  the  most  successful  Mission 
work  is  carried  on  in  Manchuria,  where  the  Irish  Presby- 
terians employ,  on  an  average,  seven  natives  to  each 
foreign  worker,  while  in  the  United  Methodist  Mission, 
whose  work  ranks  next  highest,  each  foreign  worker 
has  an  average  of  ten  Chinese  assistants.  The  Y.M.C.A. 
work,  which  has  figured  so  prominently  during  the  last 
few  years,  is  carried  on  exclusively  by  picked  Chinese, 
chosen  from  the  members  of  other  Missions. 

My  third  suggestion  emphasized  the  importance  of 
opening  colleges  in  the  provincial  capitals  for  the  train- 
ing of  accomplished  native  missionaries,  who  would  be 
given,  besides  theological  work,  courses  of  study  in  the 
various  branches  of  knowledge  taught  in  Western 
Universities. 

10.  Special  Course  on  Electrical  Engineering. 

After  this  I  began  to  realize  that  God  would  have 
me  bear  my  cross  alone,  and  that  I  must  fit  myself 
more  fully  for  influencing  the  leaders  of  China.  I 
therefore  decided  to  study  science,  and  took  a  course 
of  special  study  in  electrical  engineering  at  South 
Kensington   under    Ayrton   and   Sylvanus   Thomson. 

'  "  Conversion  by  the  Million,"  vol.  ii.  p.  28. 


200  FORTY-FIVE   YEARS   IN   CHINA 

1 1 .  Interview  with  Minister  of  Education  in 

Berlin. 

Being  interested  in  the  education  of  the  Chinese,  I 
wished  to  know  the  latest  and  best  systems  of  educa- 
tion in  Europe.  I  therefore  went  to  Berlin,  and  had 
an  interview  with  the  Minister  of  Education.  I  told  him 
that  I  was  a  missionary  in  China,  and  was  anxious  to 
see  the  best  systems  of  education  introduced  there.  The 
Minister  was  a  tall  man,  seated  at  the  end  of  a  table. 
When  I  told  him  my  object  in  seeing  him,  he  pushed 
back  his  chair,  rose  up,  towering  apparently  to  the 
ceiling,  looked  angrily  at  me,  and  cried,  "  And  when 
you  have  educated  the  Chinese  nation,  what  will  become 
of   MS?" 

He  would  not  give  me  any  help. 

Fortunately,  the  Vice-President  of  Education  was  a 
Christian,  superintendent  of  a  Sunday  School.  He  most 
readily   gave   me  all  the  information   I   desired. 

I  also  visited  Paris  with  the  same  object — to  see  the 
Minister  of  Education  there.  But  he  was  away.  I  was 
told  that  he  wanted  to  strike  out  the  name  of  God 
from  all  the  Government  textbooks. 

Before  returning  to  CKina  I  addressed  the  Committee 
of  the  B.M.S.  on  one  occasion,  and  said  that  in  my 
opinion  the  greatest  need  of  the  world  was  the  for- 
mation of  a  society  for  the  purpose  of  converting  the 
so-called    Christian    Governments    to    Christianity. 


Phtto  *v] 


IVandyck. 


TIMOTHY   RICHARD   AT   40. 


To  face  p. : 


CHAPTER   VIII 
YEARS  OF  TRIAL  AND   SUSPENSE.    1886-91 

I.  Talks  with  Leading  Jesuit  Missionary. 

In  1886,  coming  out  in  the  French  mail  Oxus,  I  had 
eighteen  Roman  Catholic  priests  and  sisters  and  also 
seven  Protestant  missionaries  as  fellow -passengers. 
Among  the  former  was  a  priest  about  my  age, 
who  was  very  zealous  in  placing  Roman  Catholic  books 
on  chairs  and  tables  for  the  passengers  to  read.  After 
observing  his  earnestness  for  some  days,  I  said  that  I 
would  like  a  talk  with  him.  He  rephed  he  would  be 
glad  to  see  me  after  dinner  that  evening.  I  began  by 
saying  that  I  admired  his  zeal  in  endeavouring  to  lead 
men  to  the  truth.  "  We  are  both  going  to  China  to 
try  and  lead  the  Chinese  in  the  True  Way,"  I  said. 
"  May  I  therefore  speak  to  you  frankly  as  a  brother 
Christian  ?  " 

"  Certainly,"  he  replied. 

Then  I  began  :  "  One  way  of  doing  our  work  is 
to  labour  each  for  our  respective  faiths.  But  whether 
we  belong  to  the  Roman  Catholic  or  to  the  Protestant 
faith  is  to  my  mind  a  secondary  question.  The  chief 
thing  is  to  be  faithful  to  God  and  to  Jesus  Christ,  the 
Saviour  of  the  world.  Now,  I  find  that  the  books  you 
are  circulating  are  full  of  untruths,  consequently  you 
are  not  serving  God.  That  is  the  rock  on  which  the 
Roman  Church  will  be  shipwrecked,  for  God  can  never 
bless  falsehood." 

At   this    bold   attack,    spoken   in   as    kindly   a   tone   as 

I  could  command,  his  face  turned  white,  and  he  clutched 

his  hands,  a  sign  that  his  feelings  had  received  a  deep 

201 


202  FORTY-FIVE    YEARS   IN   CHINA 

wound.  He  asked  if  I  knew  who  he  was.  I  replied 
that  I  did  not. 

"  I  am  President  of  the  Jesuit  College  in  the  Rue 
de  BaCj  Paris.  I  am  astonished  that  you  should  say- 
that   I  am  circulating  falsehoods." 

I  replied  :  "  One  of  the  books  you  are  circulating  is 
'  A  Short  Way  with  the  Protestants.'  I  have  read  it.  As 
I  am  a  Protestant,  you  must  admit  ttiat  I  know  Pro- 
testantism better  than  any  Romanist.  That  book  con- 
tains a  number  of  false  statements.  I  should  be  only 
too  glad  to  see  a  man  like  you  defending  truth  instead 
of  a  mere   faction." 

"  Oh,"  he  cried,  "  I  know  what  I  am  talking  about  ! 
It  was  my  rule  to  have  a  discussion  every  week  in  the 
college  on  Catholicism  and  Protestantism." 

'*  But  did  you  ever  have  a  Protestant,"  I  asked,  "  to 
state  the  Protestant  position?  " 

"  No." 

"  Then  unconsciously  you  misled  all  your  students 
by  putting  a  man  of  straw,  and  not  a  true  Protestant, 
before  them  for   them  to   lay   low   by   their  arguments." 

Eleven  years  later,  a  few  days  after  my  return  to 
Shanghai  from  furlough,  I  found  the  card  of  Pere  Simon 
on  my  table.  The  name  conveyed  no  remembrance 
to  me,  but  I  returned  the  call.  When  he  was  ushered  in, 
I  recognized  my  old  fellow -passenger  of  the  Oxus.  My 
frank  speech  had  not  alienated  his  friendship.  He  was 
soon  after  consecrated  Bishop,  and  I  attended  his 
consecration.   Three  months  later  he  died  of  heart  disease. 

Some  five  years  after  we  had  as  a  visitor  in  our 
home  Miss  Hughes,  sister  of  Hugh  Price  Hughes  and 
formerly  Principal  of  a  Training  College  in  Cambridge. 
She  had  been  lecturing  in  Japan  some  fifteen  months 
on  education.  As  she  wished  to  see  the  Jesuit  educa- 
tional institution  at  Siccawei,  my  wife  'and  I  took  her 
there.  The  head,  Pere  Boucher,  was  most  kind,  taking 
us  round  and  showing  us  everything  personally.  While 
the  ladies  had  gone  to  see  the  sisters  in  another  com- 
pound he  and  I  remained  on  a  veranda  waiting  for 
their   return.      Through   a   window    I    caught    sight    of  a 


YEARS   OF  TRIAL   AND   SUSPENSE  203 

photograph  of  Bishop  Simon  on  the  wall  of  a  room 
inside.  I  remarked  to  P^re  Boucher,  "  That  is  Bishop 
Simon.      He   was  a  very   good  man." 

*'  Yes,"  he  replied,  and  then  a  smile  broke  out  over 
his  face.  "  Do  you  remember  the  talk  you  had  on  the 
s.s.  Oxus  nearly  seventy  years  ago?  He  told  me  all 
about   it,   and   we   have  been   watching  you   ever  since." 

Not  long  after,  when  my  wife  died,  P^re  Boucher 
sent  me  a  kind  letter  of  sympathy. 

2.  Mrs.  Richard's  Illness. 

Before  arriving  in  Shanghai,  Mrs.  Richard  developed 
sprue,  a  disease  which  few  people  at  home  know  and 
even  few  medicals  understand.  Curiously  enough,  a 
friend  at  home  developed  it  at  the  same  time,  and  later 
we  learned  that  her  illness  had  ended  fatally,  as  the 
doctors  did  not  then  know  how  to  treat  it.  I  spent 
a  fortnight  in  Shanghai,  where  one  of  the  best  medical 
men  attended  my  wife,  with  the  result  that  a  marked 
improvement  was  shown.  He  never  explained,  however, 
what  the  nature  of  the  illness  was,  nor  how  his  treat- 
ment  had    produced    such    good    results. 

We  proceeded  to  Shansi  in  the  hope  that  rest  there 
would  in  time  restore  my  wife  to  her  usual  health,  but 
instead  of  improving  she  grew  worse  from  month  to 
month  until  the  following  summer,  1887.  When  the 
missionaries  in  T'ai-yuan  fu  went  to  the  mountains  for 
about  a  month  during  the  hottest  season,  my  wife  and 
I  remained  alone  in  the  city.  My  friend  Dr.  Edwards, 
of  the  C.I.M.,  came  to  see  me  before  leaving  for  the 
mountains,  and  told  me  that  he  had  tried  everything  he 
could  think  of  for  my  wife,  but  was  distressed  to  iind 
nothing  did  any  good.  He  held  in  his  hand  a  book, 
and  said  :  "I  wrote  home  for  the  best  medical  book 
on  the  subject,  and  it  has  just  arrived  this  morning. 
I  shall  leave  this   with   you   to   study." 

I  read  it  from  cover  to  cover,  and  understood  that 
the  disease  was  in  reality  an  inflammation  of  the  mucuous 
membrane,  right  through  the  body.  The  cure  lay  in 
devising  means  to  heal  the  membrane,  and  then  health 


204  FORTY-FIVE   YEARS   IN   CHINA 

would  be  fully  restored.  Two  ways  were  suggested. 
The  first  was  by  not  loading  the  stomach  with  food, 
practically  giving  absolute  rest  to  the  digestive  organs, 
and  the  membrane  would  heal  of  itself.  Still,  though 
it  was  difficult  to  abstain  entirely  from  food,  I  considered 
that  loss  of  nourishment,  if  it  allowed  the  membrane 
to  heal,  would  be  a  distinct  gain.  The  other  method 
was  to  adopt  Nature's  plan  of  feeding  a  baby — namely, 
with  milk,  and  in  small  doses  at  a  time,  so  as  not  to 
burden  the  stomach.  Adopting  this  course,  the  diarrhoea 
stopped  the  very  first  day.  I  continued  the  fasting  process, 
administered  not  more  than  half  a  wine-glassful  of  milk 
at  a  time,  and  weighed  my  patient  daily.  Gradually 
the  quantity  of  milk  was  increased,  until  I  found  there 
was  no  decrease  of  weight.  In  ten  days  her  weight 
began  to  increase  daily,  and  in  a  month  she  was  as 
well  as  she  had  ever  been,  to  the  great  astonishment 
of  all  the  friends  who  had  been  away.  They  then  con- 
fessed that  v/hen  they  had  bidden  us  good-bye  they 
had   never    expected   to    see   her   alive   again. 

Since  then  many  in  China  have  been  cured  by  the 
same  process.  For  those  who  could  not  take  milk 
another  specific  has  been  found — viz.  yellow  santonine — 
and  some  have  been  cured  even  by  fasting  alone,  and  the 
disease  is  now  no  longer  considered  incurable.  I  have 
dwelt  at  length  on  this  matter  as  it  is  of  importance 
for  sufferers  to  know  of  the  remedy. 

3.  Disapproval  of  Colleagues. 

One  of  the  new  reinforcements  for  Shansi  had  arrived 
there  when  I  was  on  my  voyage  home,  and  had  heard 
accounts  of  the  way  in  which  I  carried  on  Mission  work. 
Without  waiting  to  hear  me  on  the  subject,  he  wrote 
several  letters  to  the  Committee  at  home  against  my  views 
as  misrepresented  by  him.  By  some  inadvertence  one  of 
the  letters  was  published  in  the  Missionary  Herald. 
Simultaneously,  however,  there  appeared  a  letter  from 
one  of  the  workers  in  Shantung,  speaking  of  my 
catechism  in  the  highest  terms.  Thus  the  good  words 
of  the  one  cancelled  the   bad  effect   of  the  other  letter. 


YEARS   OF  TRIAL  AND   SUSPENSE  205 

When  I  returned  to  T'ai-yuan  fu  I  continued  my 
work  on  the  same  lines  as  before,  and  published  a  tract 
on  Taoism,  acknowledging  what  was  true  in  it  and  show- 
ing where  Christianity  had  advanced  beyond  it.  This 
acknowledgment  of  any  good  in  the  native  religion  was 
considered  rank  heresy  in  the  opinion  of  some  of  my 
young  colleagues,  and  my  method  of  carrying  on  Mission 
work  was  deemed  highly  unsatisfactory.  They  desired 
me  to  change  my  theological  views  and  submit  to  their 
guidance.  To  neither  of  these  proposals  would  I  agree, 
first,  because  I  believed  my  views  to  be  in  harmony 
with  those  of  the  most  enUghtened  ministers  at  home, 
and,  secondly,  because  I  had  had  many  years'  experience 
in  missionary  work,  while  they  had  had  none.  I  insisted, 
therefore,  on  having  the  same  liberty  of  action  as  they 
claimed  for  themselves.  Upon  this  they  sent  a 
long  letter  to  the  Committee,  censuring  me  in  regard 
both  to  my  theological  views  and  to  my  methods  of  work. 

4.  Departure  from  Shansi. 

Since  my  colleagues  were  in  this  mood,  it  was  quite  clear 
to  me  that  we  could  never  work  harmoniously  together. 
To  remain  would  induce  permanent  strife,  which  would 
be  fatal  to  missionary  work.  I  therefore  decided  to 
leave  Shansi.  I  informed  my  colleagues  of  my  de- 
cision, and  within  ten  days  1  packed  up  everything 
with  the  exception  of  my  scientific  apparatus,  which  I 
sold  at  great  reduction  to  various  of  the  Chinese  gentry, 
presenting  my  magic -lantern  and  hundreds  of  valuable 
slides  to  my  colleagues. 

I  found  I  would  be  too  busy  to  pay  a  farewell  call 
on  the  Roman  Catholic  Bishop,  who  lived  about  three 
miles  distant,  so  I  sent  him  a  letter  of  farewell.  Within 
a  couple  of  hours  he  came  to  see  me,  and  found  me 
packing  up  my  books,  which  were  scattered  all  round 
the  room.  I  asked  him  to  look  at  them  and  choose 
any  book  he  liked  as  a  memento  of  our  pleasant  inter- 
course. He  chose  a  beautiful  volume  published  by  the 
R.T.S.  in  London,  "Those  Holy  Fields."  I  wrote  his 
name  in  the  book,  and  so  we  parted.     The  last  I  heard 


206  FORTY-FIVE   YEARS   IN   CHINA 

of  him  was  in  the  awful  Boxer  year.  He  advised  his 
priests  to  flee  from  the  city,  but  he  himself  determined 
to  remain  with  his  Christians.  When  the  infamous 
Governor  Yii  Hsien  superintended  the  massacre  of  the 
missionaries,  men,  women,  and  children,  in  the  city,  the 
Bishop  was  also  put  to  death  with  the  Protestants,  thus 
testifying  the  strength  of  Christian  principle  in  both 
Roman  and  Protestant  alike. 

On  October  i8th  I  took  my  family  to  Tientsin.  There 
I  had  an  offer  of  translation  work  for  the  Government 
at  the  Arsenal,  with  a  salary  of  £600  a  year,  but  I 
could  not  contemplate  breaking  with  missionary  work. 
So  on  November  14th  I  went  to  Peking,  where  I  took 
a  house  which  had  formerly  belonged  to  Bishop 
Shereshewsky,   of   the   American   Episcopal   Mission. 

5.  Work  in  Peking. 

The  London  Committee  suggested  that  we  should 
return  to  Shantung,  and  I  agreed  to  do  so,  if  they 
would  allow  me  to  establish  a  Christian  college  at  Chi- 
nan  fu,  the  capital. 

Pending  the  reply  of  the  Baptist  Committee,  I  pre- 
pared a  pamphlet  on  "  Modern  Education  "  as  carried 
on  in  the  seven  leading  nations  of  the  world.  In  it  I 
emphasized  four  methods  of  education — the  historical,  the 
comparative,  the  general,  and  the  particular.  In  other 
words,  I  showed  how  one  must  compare  the  progress 
of  the  various  nations,  that  one  must  acquire  a  general 
knowledge  of  things  and  exact  knowledge  of  some  par- 
ticular department — that  is  to  say,  something  of  every- 
thing and  everything  of  something.  This  pamphlet  I 
distributed  among  the  leading  statesmen  in  Peking  and 
presented   to   Li    Hung-chang   in    Tientsin. 

6.   Visit  to  Li  Hung-chang  in  Tientsin. 

In  the  pamphlet  I  suggested  that  the  Chinese  Govern- 
ment should  commence  educational  reform  by  setting 
apart  a  million  taels  annually  for  it.  To  this  proposal 
Li    Hung-chang    replied    that    the    Chinese    Government 


YEARS   OF   TRIAL   AND   SUSPENSE  207 

could  not  afford  so  great  a  sum.  I  answered  that  it 
was  seed-money,  which  would  be  returned  a  hundred- 
fold. He  asked  when  that  would  be.  "  It  will  take 
twenty  years,"  I  replied,  "  before  you  can  realize  the 
benefits  of  modern  education." 

"  Ah,"  he  rejoined,  "  we  cannot  wait  as  long  as  that." 

In  this  interview  he  also  asked  me,  "  What  good  can 
Christianity  do  for  a  nation?"  This  most  vital  ques- 
tion decided  me  to  write  later  a  book  entitled  "  Historical 
Evidences  of  the  Benefits  of  Christianity." 

Many  years  after  I  met  a  Hanlin  who  was  in  charge 
of  a  Chinese  provincial  college,  and  who  had  read  my 
pamphlet  on  education.  He  told  me  that  he  had  striven 
to  carry  out  in  his  institution  the  former  methods  I  had 
pointed  out. 

7.  Mrs.  Richard's  Pupils. 

Besides  helping  me  in  preparing  my  books,  Mrs. 
Richard  was  asked  by  three  Japanese  to  give  them 
English  lessons.  She  followed  a  new  method  of  teach- 
ing languages,  which  is,  after  all,  the  oldest  and  most 
accurate,  being  instinctively  employed  by  all  children 
in  learning  to  talk — namely,  beginning  with  the  names 
of  things,  and  continuing  with  the  simplest  and  shortest 
conversational  phrases,  which  the  jDupils  were  to  commit 
to  memory  and  be  drilled  in  every  day.  As  a  result 
of  this  method,  one  of  the  Japanese,  who  had  not  known 
a  single  word  of  Enghsh  before  he  began  with  Mrs. 
Richard,  within  six  months  talked  far  better  English 
than  the  other  two,  who  had  previously  had  two  years 
of  a  smattering  of  EngHsh,  as  their  incorrect  idioms 
required  very  long  to  unlearn. 

When  they  were  beginning  to  read  English  books 
of  their  own  accord,  they  said  they  found  many  religious 
terms  in  them  that  they  could  not  understand.  My 
wife  recommended  them  to  read  the  New  Testament  with 
her,  so  as  to  become  familiar  with  the  rehgious 
phraseology.  They  began  with  the  Gospel  of  St.  John. 
The  effect  on  them  was  remarkable.  Not  only  did  they 
understand  and  learn  the  religious  terms,  but  they  were 
so   profoundly    impressed    with    what    they    read   that   all 


208  FORTY-FIVE    YEARS   IN   CHINA 

three  desired  to  be  baptized  into  the  Christian  faith. 
I  called  on  the  Japanese  Minister  to  inform  him  of  their 
wish  and  ask  if  he  had  any  objection,  as  one  of  the 
pupils  was  his  son  and  the  others  were  Secretaries  of 
Legation.  He  replied  that  when  he  had  been  sent  to 
Europe  by  his  Emperor  to  study  Western  civilization  he 
had  remained  for  several  years,  and  had  come  to  the 
conclusion  that  of  all  Europeans  he  had  met  the  Christians 
were  the  best.  If,  therefore,  his  son  and  the  Secre- 
taries desired  to  become  good  Christians,  he  had  no 
objection,  but  wished  them  well.  And  so  the  three 
were  baptized.  One  of  the  Secretaries,  Mr.  Amano,  was 
later  appointed  Japanese  Consul  in  several  of  the  ports 
in  China.  Hearing  that  Mrs.  Richard  was  teaching 
English  to  these  Japanese,  Marquis  Tseng,  who  had  then 
just  returned  from  Europe,  wished  one  of  his  sons  to 
continue   his    English   studies   with   her. 

8.  Marquis  Tseng. 

Marquis  Tseng  was  the  son  of  the  famous  statesman 
Tseng  Kwoh-fan.  He  had  early  had  an  ambition  to  go 
abroad,  and  had  learned  English  with  that  object  in 
view.  He  was  for  eight  years  Chinese  Minister  in 
London  and  Paris.  On  his  return  from  Europe  he  was 
made  member  of  the   Foreign   Office. 

In  1888,  when  I  was  living  in  Peking,  I  became 
acquainted  with  him  in  a  singular  manner.  He  had 
been  advocating  the  construction  of  a  railway  between 
Tientsin  and  Peking.  The  Emperor's  father,  Prince 
Ch'un,  being  inundated  with  petitions  against  the  rail- 
way from  the  carters  of  Peking,  asked  Marquis  Tseng 
if  he  could  give  information  as  to  the  effect  of  the 
introduction  of  railways  on  the  livehhood  of  coachmen 
and  cabmen  in  London.  He  could  not  give  the  desired 
information,  so  asked  Dr.  Dudgeon,  who  was  his 
physician.  Dr.  Dudgeon  did  not  know,  and  asked  Dr. 
Edkins,  who  in  his  turn  was  not  able  to  give  informa- 
tion, and  asked  me.  I  was,  fortunately,  able  to  furnish 
the  Marquis  with  exact  dates  and  figures,  which  pleased 
him  very  much. 


YEARS   OF  TRIAL   AND   SUSPENSE  209 

The  Marquis  had  sons  and  daughters,  who  spoke 
English  well,  and  were  glad  to  have  foreigners  call  upon 
them.  Mrs.  Richard  became  very  well  acquainted  with 
them,  and  later,  as  the  youngest  son  had  not  completed 
his  education,  she  was,  as  I  have  said,  asked  to  give 
him  lessons  in  English.  A  grandson  of  the  Viceroy 
of   Canton    joined    him   in    lessons    for    a    time. 

When  1  presented  the  Marquis  with  my  scheme  of 
modern  education  for  China,  he  approved  of  it  most 
enthusiastically,  and  urged  me  to  circulate  the  treatise 
amongst  the  highest  officials,  as  he  was  convinced  that 
the  only  hope  for  China  lay  in  education.  As  he  him- 
self was  only  a  junior  member  of  the  Foreign  Office, 
he  felt  that  his  advocacy  of  Western  education  would  lead 
the  seniors  to  suspect  that  he  was  too  readily,  influenced  by 
foreigners,  so  he  feared  to  take  the  matter  up  all  alone. 

Unfortunately,  he  died  at  an  early  age,  before  he 
had  an  opportunity  of  making  use  of  the  valuable 
information  and  experience  that  he  had  gathered  abroad. 

9.  Visit  to  Chief  Lama. 

There  was  at  that  time  in  Peking  an  Oriental  Society 
before  which  papers  on  subjects  connected  with  the  Far 
East  were  read  from  time  to  time.  Mr.  Shioda,  the 
Japanese  Minister,  was  President.  I  was  asked  to  read 
a  paper  on  "  The  Influence  of  Buddhism  on  China." 
In  preparation  for  it  I  translated  from  Chinese  histories 
the  account  of  the  high  position  occupied  by  Buddhism 
in  China  at  one  time.  The  meeting  was  held  at  the 
British  Legation,  Sir  John  Walsham  being  then  the 
Minister.  Most  of  the  representatives  of  the  various 
Legations   were  present. 

Being  anxious  to  obtain  information  on  Thibetan 
Buddhism,  or  Lamaism,  I  paid  a  visit  to  the  chief  Lama 
in  Peking.  He  resided  at  Yung  Ho  Kung,  a  temple 
which  had  formerly  belonged  to  one  of  the  Imperial 
princes.  Here  were  hundreds  of  Lama  priests, 
Thibetans  and  Mongols  for  the  most  part.  In  1880 
a  friend  had  taken  me  to  see  the  temple,  and  in  all 
my  days  in   China   I   never  met  with  such  rudeness  and 

14 


210  FORTY-FIVE   YEARS   IN   CHINA 

insult  as  was  shown  at  the  temple  gates  then,  and  1 
vowed  I  would  never  give  the  priests  an  opportunity 
of  repeating  their  insults. 

In  preparation  for  my  second  visit  I  first  sent  my 
card  to  the  chief  Lama,  asking  for  an  interview  and 
presenting  at  the  same  time,  according  to  Chinese  custom, 
a  small  gift  in  the  shape  of  an  electric  bell.  This  acted 
like  a  charm,  for  it  greatly  excited  his  curiosity,  none 
of  his  attendants  being  able  to  manipulate  it.  He  sent 
back  his  card,  asking  me  to  call  next  day  at  eleven. 

I  took  with  me  Mr.  Shorrock,  a  new  missionary  of 
the  B.M.S.  When  we  arrived  there  was  no  sign  of 
rudeness  in  the  demeanour  of  the  priests.  On  the  con- 
trary, about  a  dozen  Lamas  were  at  the  gate  drawn  up 
in  style,  expecting  us,  and  led  us  straight  to  the  quarters 
of  the  chief  Lama.  There  we  found  a  table  of  refresh- 
ments spread  for  us.  The  electric  bell,  being  such  a 
mystery  to  him,  formed  a  fruitful  topic  of  conversation. 
I  put  it  up  myself  in  a  few  minutes  close  to  the  Lama's 
bed,  while  the  battery  was  set  in  his  servant's  room  in 
an  adjoining  courtyard.  I  then  told  the  servant  to  wait 
until  he  heard  the  bell,  and,  returning  to  the  Lama's 
room,  I  pressed  the  button.  Instantly  the  servant  came 
running  across  the  courtyard  in  great  excitement,  crying 
out,  "  It's  ringing  I  It's  ringing  !  "  This  greatly 
delighted  the  chief  Lama. 

Later,  discussing  religion,  I  asked  the  Lama  whether 
Lamaism  were  flourishing  or  waning.  He  replied  that 
it  certainly  was  on  the  wane. 

"  Is  that  not  a  very  discouraging  prospect  for  you  ?  " 
I  asked. 

"  No,"  he  replied,  surprising  me  not  a  little.  "  Just 
as  there  is  a  tide  at  sea  which  comes  and  goes  at  stated 
intervals,  so  there  is  a  tide  in  religious  affairs.  Though 
at  present  it  is  ebb-tide  in  Lamaism,  the  flood -tide  will 
come  again." 

When  discussing  the  relation  of  China  to  Japan,  he 
seemed  more  at  home  in  the  realms  of  politics  than  in 
that  of  religion.  It  seemed  to  me  plain  that,  though 
religious    services    were    carried    on    every    day    in    the 


YEARS   OF  TRIAL   AND   SUSPENSE  211 

temple,    he    was    there    in    Peking    mainly   as    a    political 
agent,  and  not  as  a  religious  teacher. 

lo.  Visit  to  Chief  Buddhist  Abbot. 

The  Chinese  Government  has  in  every  provincial 
capital  a  Buddhist  high  priest,  while  in  Peking  there 
is  a  similar  functionary.  The  Government,  however,  does 
not  allow  him  to  exercise  control  over  the  chief  priests 
of  the  provinces,  as  that  would  put  too  much  power 
in  his  hands. 

In  1888  I  visite':!  the  chief  Buddhist  priest  in  Peking. 
He  was  an  elderly  gentleman  of  over  sixty,  of  very 
gentle   manners   and   high   intelligence. 

He  asked,  "Who  sent  you  to  China?  Your 
sovereign  ?  " 

"  No,"  I  replied.  "  I  would  not  have  come  to  China 
if  I  had  not  felt  that  God  had  sent  me." 

He  instantly  seized  on  my  reply,  and  raised  one  of  the 
most  momentous  religious  questions,  "  How  do  you  know 
what  the  will  of  God  is  ?  " 

His  conversation  convinced  me  that  when  we 
foreigners  judge  of  Buddhists  'by  merely  the  intelli- 
gence of  the  average  Buddhist  priest  we  make  a  great 
mistake.  A  religion  that  has  won  the  adherence  of 
some  of  the  greatest  minds  in  China  is  not  to  be  lightly 
set  aside.  It  was  only  after  many  years  of  study  that 
I  discovered  that  the  highest  development  in  Buddhism 
(not  the  original  Buddhism  founded  by  Gautama,  but 
that  which  commenced  after  the  Christian  era)  contained 
practically  some  of  the  main  doctrines  of  Christianity. 
But  at  present  most  of  the  Buddhists  in  China  confuse 
the  tenets  of  the  old  Buddhism  with  those  of  the  new 
in  such  a  way  that  the  two  schools  can  hardly  be  dis- 
tinguished, though  they  themselves  acknowledge  the 
existence    of    conflicting    doctrines. 

II.  Invitation  to  Work  in  Shantung. 

In  the  spring  of  1888  I  went  to  Japan  in  order  to 
study  Mission  methods  there,  and  found  that  the  educa- 
tional   work    I    was    urging    on    the    B.M.S.    was    being 


212  FORTY-FIVE   YEARS   IN   CHINA 

carried  out  in  Japan  with  great  success.  On  my  return 
I  heard  from  the  Baptist  Committee  that  though  they 
would  sanction  my  work  among  the  literati  and  officials, 
they  could  not  support  any  educational  institution,  as 
they  considered  that  the  Churches  would  not  approve 
of  such  a  use  of  their  Mission  funds.  At  this  refusal 
of  my  plans  I  began  to  contemplate  leaving  the  Mission. 
Directly  Mr.  Jones  heard  of  this  possibility  he  tele- 
graphed to  me  to  say  that  he  was  coming  to  Peking  at 
once,  and  that  I  must  not  decide  on  any  course  of 
action  before  his  arrival.  When  we  met  he  begged 
me  to  go  to  Shantung  and  work  with  him.  At  this 
urgent  request  I  went  with  him  in  September  to  consult 
with  my  colleagues  in  Shantung. 

There  I  met  all  the  brethren,  and  frankly  told  them 
my  opinions,  how  if  I  came  to  Shantung  I  wished  for 
the  establishment  of  a  Christian  college  in  Chi -nan  fu 
and  the  assistance  of  ten  evangelists,  who  would  be 
under  my  sole  control.  I  pointed  out  to  my  colleagues, 
as  I  had  done  in  Shansi,  that  I  did  not  wish  to  limit 
their  liberty,  nor  would  I  submit  to  having  mine  limited 
by  them.  Co -pastorates  of  two  men  were  proverbially 
difficult  at  home,  but  a  co -pastorate  of  a  dozen  men 
on  the  Mission -field  would  be  utterly  impracticable. 
There  must  be  a  division  of  labour,  and  each  missionary 
must  be  free  and  yet  responsible  in  his  sphere  of  work. 
On  my  return  to  Peking,  I  continued  work  on  my  book, 
"  Historical   Evidences   of   the   Benefits    of    Christianity." 

12.  Fever  and  Paralysis,  Shantung. 
In  May  1889  we  removed  to  Tientsin,  and  in  June 
I  went  to  Shantung,  That  year  there  was  another  famine 
in  Shantung,  and  large  sums  had  been  raised  for  relief. 
As  I  had  had  long  experience  in  relief  distribution,  I 
was  asked  to  assist  in  the  neighbourhood  of  Chi -nan 
fu.  As  usual,  the  famine  was  accompanied  by  fever, 
from  which  tens  of  thousands  suffered,  and  a  large  per- 
centage died.  This  time  1  took  the  fever.  I  was  laid 
very  low  with  it.  Dr.  Coltman,  a  medical  missionary 
of    the    American    Presbyterian    Mission    in    Chi -nan    fu, 


YEARS  OF  TRIAL  AND   SUSPENSE  213 

feared  that  if  I  remained  in  the  city  I  should  succumb 
to  the  disease,  so  he  arranged  that  I  should  be  carried 
to  Tsouping  by  night  on  a  stretcher,  sleeping  by  day 
to  avoid  the  heat.  There  I  recovered  sufficiently  to 
proceed  to  Ch'ing-chow  fu.  Before  I  was  quite  con- 
valescent there  was  a  Conference  of  the  Shantung  English 
Baptists,  which  I  'was  urged  to  attend.  There  my  scheme 
of  educational  work  was  agreed  to  by  the  Shantung 
colleagues,  and  a  letter  was  sent  to  the  B.M.S.  with 
the  signatures  of  them  all,  twelve  in  number.  The 
Conference  also  suggested  that  I  should  remove  to  Chi- 
nan  fu  in  October.  But  before  the  end  of  the  first 
meeting  of  the  Conference  I  was  seized  in  my  right 
arm  with  malarial  paralysis,  a  common  sequel  to  famine 
fever,  and  suffered  great  pain,  which  compelled  me  to 
remain  some  time  in  Ch'ing-chow  fu  before  I  was  able 
to  proceed   on  my  way  back  to  Tientsin. 

Meanwhile  my  wife  had  been  seriously  ill,  and  when 
convalescent  had  been  ordered  to  Chefoo  to  be 
strengthened  by  the  sea  air.  There  I  joined  her 
in  the  summer,  and  we  spent  some  three  weeks  regaining 
our   health.      My    right    hand    recovered    very    slowly. 

On  returning  to  Tientsin,  I  intended  to  set  to  work 
preparing  to  remove  to  Shantung,  for  we  concluded  that 
the  B.M.S.  would  be  sure  to  agree  to  the  unanimous 
request  of  the  colleagues.  I  had  all  my  boxes  packed  on 
the  veranda  ready  to  start  when  the  doctor  arrived  and 
said,  "  You  must  not  dream  of  going  now  ;  you  are  not 
fit  to  take  a  long  journey  overland."  He  also  declared 
that  if  we  removed  to  Chi -nan  fu  we  must  not  spend 
our  summer  there,  as  I  would  certainly  have  a  return 
of  malarial   fever,   and  perhaps   further  paralysis. 

As  I  was  far  from  recovered,  my  wife  wrote  all  my 
letters,  and  at  my  dictation  continued  "  The  Historical 
Evidences  of  Christianity."  Meanwhile  we  waited  at 
Tientsin  for  the  reply  from  the  B.M.S.  Committee. 

13.  B.M.S.  Refuse  Scheme  of  College.      1889. 

But  instead  of  agreeing  to  the  unanimous  request  of 
the     Shantung     brethren     the     Committee     once     more 


214  FORTY-FIVE   YEARS   IN   CHINA 

rejected  the  scheme  of  a  Christian  college.  One 
member  of  the  Committee  had  raised  a  protest,  saying 
that  in  all  the  twenty  years  he  had  served  on  the  Com- 
mittee he  had  never  known  a  like  case,  of  a  unanimous 
request  from  the  Mission -field  being  rejected.  Mr. 
Bayncs  then  wrote,  saying  that  as  the  Committee  could 
not  adopt  the  proposal  of  the  Shantung  missionaries 
they  urged  me  to  go  to  Shantung  and  agree  to  the 
same  methods  of  work  as  the  others  were  engaged  in. 
This   refusal   arrived   in   October. 

14.  Shanghai  Conference.     Tientsin. 

In  May  1890  a  second  General  Conference  of  mis- 
sionaries was  held  in  Shanghai  (the  first  having  been 
held  in  1877),  for  which  I  was  asked  to  write  a  paper 
on  "  The  Relation  of  Christian  Missions  to  the  Chinese 
Government."  Having  been  absent,  owing  to  famine 
relief,  from  the  first  Conference,  I  looked  forward  with 
great  pleasure  to  attending  the  second.  In  my  paper 
I  called  attention  to  the  fact  that  the  Chinese  Government, 
in  what  might  be  called  the  Blue  Books  of  China,  was 
printing  and  circulating  the  vilest  calumnies  against  the 
Christian  Church,  and  as  a  new  and  cheap  edition  of 
all  the  books  published  during  scores  of  years  was  being 
then  republished,  I  stated  that  in  my  opinion  we  were 
standing  on  a  volcano,  and  I  prophesied  that  there  would 
soon  be  a  great  eruption  of  persecution.  I  proposed, 
therefore,  that  a  committee  be  appointed  at  once  to 
memorialize  the  Throne  stating  the  true  objects  of  Chris- 
tianity and  begging  that  the  calumnies  should  be 
immediately  withdrawn. 

Many  in  the  Conference  considered  that  I  took  too 
gloomy  a  view  of  the  situation,  but  after  discussion  it  was 
decided  that  a  committee  be  appointed  to  memorialize 
the  Throne.  My  prophecy,  rmfortunately,  proved  only 
too  true.  During  that  summer  a  number  of  fierce 
persecutions  broke  out  in  the  Yangtze  valley.  I  went 
up  to  Wuchang  to  see  the  Viceroy  Chang  Chih-tung,  in 
the  hope  that  he  would  take  measures  to  stop  the  persecu- 
tion.     But   he   would   not    move   in    the   matter. 


YEARS   OF  TRIAL  AND  SUSPENSE  215 

15.   Editing   Chinese   Paper. 

When  I  went  back  to  Tientsin,  I  laid  the  matter  before 
the  Viceroy  Li  Hung-chang,  and  asked  him  to  put  an 
end  to  the  evil  reports.  But  he  was  not  in  a  mood 
to  act.  Not  long  after  this,  in  July  1890,  an  offer 
was  made  to  me,  through  the  Viceroy  and  some  personal 
friends,  to  become  the  editor  of  a  daily  paper  in  Chinese, 
called  the  Shih  Pao.  This  I  at  once  accepted.  The 
appointment   was   most   providential. 

I  wrote  on  many  subjects  bearing  on  reform  in  China. 
I  also  published  a  weekly  edition,  and  in  this  I  had 
comparative  diagrams  showing  the  relative  areas  of  popu- 
lations, railways,  telegraphs,  and  commerce  of  the  nations 
of  the  world.  These  diagrams  proved  probably  one  of 
the  greatest  forces  in  compelling  intelligent  Chinese  to 
advocate   reform. 

I  also  published  articles  showing  how  the  Japanese 
were  rapidly  reforming,  for  which  Japanese  visitors  came 
and  thanked  me.  Scholars  also,  in  different  parts  of 
China,  who  had  read  my  leaders,  showed  considerable 
interest.  Chang  Chih-tung  wired  to  me  from  Wuchang 
for  copies  to  be  sent  direct  to  him. 

During  that  year  the  present  Czar  of  Russia,  then 
heir -apparent,  came  out  to  the  .East  to  turn  the  first 
sod  of  the  Siberian  Railway,  and  wished  to  visit  Peking. 
The  Chinese  were  greatly  alarmed  about  it.  To  allay 
their  fears,  I  filled  the  Shih  Pao  for  weeks  with  accounts 
of  the  visits  of  Royal  personages  to  one  another  in 
Europe,  as  tending  gTeatly  towards  peace  and  goodwill, 
and  urged  that  the  princes  of  China  should  go  abroad  in 
like  manner. 

16.  Mrs.  Richard's  Biblewomen  in  Tientsin. 

In  1890  the  American  Episcopal  Methodist  Mission 
in  Tientsin  were  short  of  workers,  and  Mrs.  Jewell  asked 
my  wife  to  undertake  to  train  a  class  of  about  fifty 
Biblewomen  during  the  winter.  The  previous  winter  she 
had    helped    in   a    class    of    Chinese    women    with    great 


216  FORTY-FIVE   YEARS  IN  CHINA 

success.  These  women  had  come  from  various  parts 
of  the  country  to  receive  their  training  in  Tientsin.  My 
wife  took  the  outline  of  "  Historical  Evidences  of  Chris- 
tianity "  with  the  women,  pointing  out  on  a  great  map 
how  Christianity  had  reached  one  country  after  another 
until  it  had  spread  all  over  the  world.  She  made  suitable 
selections  of  Scripture,  bringing  them  before  the  women 
in  a  practical  form  each  day.  She  was  much  struck  by 
their  devotion  and  earnestness,  though  naturally  they 
varied  in  intelligence  and  temperament.  Notwithstanding 
this,  there  was  not  a  single  case  of  strife  between  them 
during  the  whole  winter. 

When  the  spring  approached,  the  women  were  dismissed 
to  their  respective  homes,  which  lay  at  distances  vary- 
ing from  some  tens  of  li  to  some  hundreds.  Mrs.  Richard 
told  them  in  parting  that,  by  giving  them  this  knowledge 
before  the  other  families  in  their  villages,  God  intended 
them  to  become  His  ambassadors  to  bring  great  tidings 
of  great  joy  to  their  people.  When  the  autumn  came  and 
the  missionaries  made  evangelistic  tours  through  the 
country,  it  gave  great  joy  to  my  wife  to  hear  that  one 
of  these  Biblewomen  had  been  the  means  of  bringing  in 
fifty  inquirers,  and  another  no  less  than  a  hundred.  This 
proved  for  the  hundredth  time  the  fact  that  natives 
can  best  influence  their  fellow-countrymen  to  join  the 
Christian  Church. 

17.  B.M.S.  Deputation. 

In  October  1890  the  B.M.S.  sent  out  a  deputation 
consisting  of  Dr.  Richard  Glover,  of  Bristol,  the  Chairman 
of  the  China  Committee,  and  the  Rev.  W.  Morris,  |of 
Ipswich,  the  first  deputation  that  ever  visited  the  China 
Mission. 

They  arrived  in  Tientsin  and  did  their  work  thoroughly, 
visiting  both  Shantung  and  Shansi.  They  naturally 
assumed  that  the  chief  cause  of  my  separation  from  the 
Mission  lay  in  me,  and  proceeded  as  if  to  make  peace 
between  me  and  my  fellow-missionaries.  But  they  found 
I  had  no  difference  whatever  with  any  one  in  Shantung. 


YEARS  OF  TRIAL  AND  SUSPENSE  217 

1 8.  Invitation  to  S.D.K.  in  Shanghai. 

In  May  1891,  as  Dr.  Williamson,  the  founder  of  the 
Society  for  the  Diffusion  of  Christian  and  General  Know- 
ledge for  the  Chinese,  had  died,  the  Committee  in 
Shanghai  invited  me  to  become  his  successor.  Having 
experienced  the  widespread  influence  of  a  newspaper,  I 
was  convinced  of  the  value  of  literary  work  in  China,  and 
I  replied  that  I  would  gladly  accede  to  their  request  if 
the  Baptist  Missionary  Society  would  support  me,  as  the 
United  Presbyterian  Mission  had  supported  Dr.  William- 
son. The  deputation  approved  of  the  step,  and  the  B.M.S. 
cautiously  replied  that  they  would  support  me  for  three 
years.  So  at  the  end  of  a  year's  work  as  Editor  of  the 
Shih  Pao  in  Tientsin,  I  removed  to  Shanghai  in  October 
1891. 


CHAPTER     IX 
S.D.K.   WORK   IN   SHANGHAI.    1891-4 

I.  Founding  of  S.D.K.  by  Dr.  Williamson. 

In  1887  the  Chinese  Book  and  Tract  Society,  first 
established  in  Glasgow  in  1884,  dissolved  itself  and  was 
succeeded  by  the  Society  for  the  Diffusion  of  Christian 
and  General  Knowledge  (S.D.K.),  which  took  over  the 
printing  press  and  other  property  generously  offered  by 
the  original  promoters  of  the  former  Society.' 

The  founder  of  the  S.D.K.  was  the  Rev.  Alexander 
Williamson,  LL.D.,  whom  I  had  known  in  the  early  days 
of  Chefoo.  He  stated  the  object  of  the  Society  to  be 
the  circulation  of  literature  based  on  Christian  principles 
throughout  China,  her  colonies  and  dependencies,  litera- 
ture written  from  a  Chinese  standpoint,  with  a  knowledge 
of  native  modes  of  thought  and  adapted  to  instruct  and 
elevate  the  people,  especially  through  the  more  intelligent 
and  ruling  classes.  In  1889,  at  the  Chinese  New  Year, 
a  monthly  magazine,  entitled  Wang  I(woh  Kutig  Pao, 
or  Review  of  the  Times,  was  started,  also  a  Chinese 
Boy's  Own  Paper,  the  former  edited  by  Dr.  Young  J. 
Allen,  the  latter  by  Mr.  D.  S.  Murray. 

In  1890  the  Society  gave  up  its  printing-offices  for 
want  of  funds,  and  the  plant  was  sold  to  the  National 
Bible  Society  of  Scotland  for  use  at  Hankow. 

In  August  of  1890  occurred  the  lamented  death  of  Dr. 
Williamson  at  Chefoo.     "  The  amplitude  of  Dr.  William- 

■  The  members  in  Glasgow  and  Edinburgh  of  the  Christian  Litera- 
ture Society  (the  Auxiliary  of  the  S.D.K.  in  Scotland)  have  been  most 
loyal  supporters  of  the  work  from  the  beginning,  sending  hundreds 
of  pounds  annually. 

218 


S.D.K.   WORK   IN  SHANGHAI  219 

son's  physical  proportions  was  indicative  of  his  great 
and  diversified  talents.  From  his  towering  height  he 
seemed  to  see  afar  off  the  end  he  desired  to  attain, 
and  he  hoped  to  make  the  successful  institution  of  this 
Society  the  crowning  glory  of  a  long  life." 

Such  were  the  words  of  Mr.  John  Macgregor,  of 
Jardinc,  Matheson  &  Co.,  one  of  the  Trustees  of  the 
Society. 

2.  Other  Workers  in  the  S.D.K. 

Mr.  C.  S.  Addis  (now  Sir  Charles  Addis),  of  the 
Hongkong  and  Shanghai  Bank,  became  Acting  Secretary 
until  I  joined  the  Society  in  October  1891.  He  remained 
Vice-President  of  the  S.D.K.  until  he  left  China  in  1909, 
an^d  greatly  aided  the  Society  by  his  wise  counsel  and 
active  interest.  Sir  Robert  Hart  rcm.ained  President  of 
the  Society  from   1888  until  his  death,  in    191 1. 

At  the  time  I  joined  the  S.D.K.,  I  was  the  only  member 
entirely  set  apart  for  literary  work.  Dr.  Allen,  editor 
of  the  Wang  Kwoh  Kung  Pao  {Review  of  the  Times), 
was  then  Principal  of  the  Anglo- Chinese  College  in  con- 
nection with  the  American  Methodist  Episcopal  Mission 
(South),  and  he  could  devote  only  his  spare  time  to  the 
monthly  magazine,  which  the  more  intelligent  Chinese 
found  to  contain  a  fund  of  most  useful  information.  He 
was  always  a  friendly  adviser  of  the  Chinese  in  regard 
to  everything  bearing  on  their  progress,  and  wherever 
the  paper  was  circulated  it  produced  a  friendly  feeling 
towards  missionaries  and  foreigners  generally.  He  died 
in  May   1907. 

In  191 1  the  same  Mission  continued  their  co-operation 
with  the  Society  by  allowing  Dr.  A.  P.  Parker  to  give 
part  of  his  time  to  literary  work. 

In  the  beginning  of  the  work  of  the  S.D.K.  in 
Shanghai,  Dr.  Williamson  had  at  first  secured  the  services 
of  a  German  missionary,  Dr.  Faber,  one  of  the  profoundest 
students  of  Chinese  literature,  who  had  written  exten- 
sively in  German,  English,  and  Chinese.  He  was  also 
a  weighty  man  of  dry  humour.  He  had  been  requested 
by  the  General  Conference  of   1890  in  Shanghai  to  write 


220  FORTY-FIVE   YEARS  IN   CHINA 

a  Christian  Commentary  on  the  Chinese  Classics.  Some 
years  after,  he  was  asked  by  a  friend,  "  Where  is  that 
Christian  Commentary  of  yours  which  so  many  people 
are  looking  forward  to  seeing?"  He  replied,  in  his 
slow,  deep,  solemn  voice,  "It  is  in  the  ink-bottle."  On 
being  once  asked  what  kind  of  work  he  was  doing,  he 
replied,  "  1  am  engaged  in  the  conversion  of  the  Chinese 
mind."  Latterly,  Dr.  Faber  worked  independently  of 
the  S.D.K.  His  untimely  death  in  Tsingtao  occurred 
in  the  autumn  of  1899.  His  chief  work  was  a  large  and 
important  book  on  "  Civilization,"  in  which  he  compared 
Chinese  civilization  with  Christian  civilization.  It  was 
first  published  in  Hongkong,  and  with  Dr.  Faber's  consent 
was   republished   by   the   S.D.K. 

In  1893  Rev.  Paul  Kranz,  a  missionary  of  independent 
means,  came  out  to  China  to  join  Dr.  Faber.  He  was 
invited  to  join  the  Committee  of  the  S.D.K.,  and  during 
my  absence  in  Peking  in  the  autumn  and  winter  of 
1895-6  he  acted  as  Secretary,  and  again  during  my 
furlough  in  1896-7.  He  was  a  man  of  fine  education 
and  unbounded  enthusiasm,  always  brimful  of  new  ideas 
for  the  furtherance  of  our  work.  It  was  a  great  pity  that 
his  health  was  never  robust,  and  that  he  was  compelled 
to   retire   home   long   before   his   time. 

From  1895  to  1898  Dr.  E.  T.  Williams,  of  the  Foreign 
Christian  Mission  in  Nanking,  took  charge  of  the 
Missionary  Review,  and  was  greatly  helped  in  his 
literary    work    by    Mrs.    Williams. 

3.  First  Methods  of  Work. 

It  is  interesting  to  quote  here  my  plan  of  campaign 
as   stated   in   the    1891    Report  of  the   S.D.K. 

"  The  generosity  of  the  foreign  communities  in  China 
and  at  home  has  repeatedly  been  shown  in  response 
to  appeals  for  famine  relief  ;  but  when  through 
ignorance  many  of  the  preventable  causes  of  these 
famines  are  not  removed,  there  is  a  growing  feeling 
that  the  best  way  of  helping  China  is  to  give  such 
kind  of  enlightenment  as  this  Society  attempts  to  give. 
We   cannot   even  dream  of  establishing  modern  schools 


S.D.K.   WORK  IN  SHANGHAI  221 

throughout  the  Empire  ;  this  will  be  the  province  of 
the  Chinese  Government  after  it  somewhat  understands 
its  own  needs  and  how  to  meet  them.  Nor  do  we  intend 
to  reach  all  the  mandarins  in  the  Empire.  Much  less 
can  we  reach  every  one  of  the  literati,  who  play  such 
an  important  part  in  the  government  of  China.  Still, 
the  chief  mandarins,  together  with  the  High  Examiners, 
Educational  Inspectors  of  counties.  Professors  of 
colleges,  and  a  small  percentage  of  the  literati,  with 
some  of  the  ladies  and  children  of  their  families,  might 
be   reached.      (This  number  was   estimated   at   44,036.) 

"Proposed  Methods. 

1.  Periodicals  of  a  high-class  order  will  be  provided.     In  these  there 

will  be  some  subjects  treated  systematically,  somewhat  after 
the  manner  of  Cassell's  Popular  Educator.  Happily  we  have 
secured  the  services  of  Dr.  Allen  as  Editor  for  these. 

2.  It  is  hoped  that  a  series  of  books  and  pamphlets  may  also  be 

provided  to  show  the  bearing  of  educational  and  religious 
development  in  industries  and  trade  and  in  every  department 
of  national  progress. 

3.  Prizes,   it  is   hoped,  will   be  given  for   the  best  papers  by  the 

Chinese  on  various  subjects  connected  with  the  enlightenment 
and  progress  of  the  nation. 

4.  We  hope  also  to  stimulate  towards  other  means  for  the  enlighten- 

ment of  China,  such  as  lectures,  museum,  reading-rooms, 
etc.,  by  supplying  them  with  useful  knowledge  on  the  great 
value  of  these. 

5.  Depots  where  our  publications  will  be  on  sale  will,  it  is  hoped,  be 

established  at  each  examination  centre  (provincial  capitals). 

6.  We  hope  especially  to  secure  the  co-operation  of  the  Chinese  in 

all  efforts  and  to  get  them  to  form  societies  for  the  advance- 
ment of  learning. 

7.  We   intend   to   have  advertisements  of   our   Society's  aims  and 

purposes  put  out  at  every  examination.  As  the  best  school- 
masters of  every  distant  village  attend  these  examinations,  we 
hope  in  this  way  to  make  our  influence  felt  in  every  nook 
and  corner  of  the  Empire." 

4.  Plans  for  Increase  of  Interest. 

In  1892  I  wrote  to  a  number  of  leading  missionaries 
i'U  China  asking  them  to  suggest  such  subjects  for 
translation    as    they    thought    most    important    for    the 


222  FORTY-FIVE   YEARS   IN   CHINA 

Chinese.  In  this  way  I  hoped  to  increase  and  intensify 
the  interest  taken  in  the  S.D.K.  A  list  of  about 
seventy  subjects  was  suggested,  and  over  twenty  friends, 
chiefly  educational  missionaries,  promised  to  write  on 
some  of  these  subjects.  The  British  Consul-General  in 
Shanghai,  Mr.  George  Jamieson,  kindly  undertook  to 
write  on  Law,  and  friends  in  the  Customs  Service  wrote 
special  articles  for  me.  In  addition  to  this,  provincial 
Committees  of  our  Society  were  organized  to  aid  in 
the    preparation    and    distribution    of   literature. 

In  the  spring  of  1892  occurred  in  Peking  the 
triennial  examination  of  Chu-ren  (M.A.)  candidates, 
and  to  these  were  distributed  free  copies  of  "  Four 
Great  Problems."  My  book  on  "  Historical  Evidences  " 
was  presented  to  the  highest  authorities  in  most  of  the 
eighteen    provinces . 

In  1892-3  Dr.  Allen  had  to  go  to  America  on 
furlough,  and  Dr.  Edkins,  an  active  contributor  to  our 
magazine,  was  in  Europe,  so  the  whole  work  of  the 
Society  fell  on  my  shoulders.  I  had  to  edit  the  Wang 
Kwoh  Kung  Pao,  the  monthly  magazine  for  circulation 
among  the  mandarins  and  scholars  of  China,  and  the 
Tsung  Shi  Kiao  Hui  Pao  (the  Christian  Review).  I 
also  began  the  translation  of  Mackenzie's  "  History  of 
the  Nineteenth  Century." 

In  1893  special  autumn  examinations  were  held  to 
commemorate  (a  year  in  advance)  the  sixtieth  birthday  of 
the  Empress -Dowager.  Pastor  Kranz  gave  the  generous 
sum  of  twelve  hundred  dollars  towards  the  distribution 
of  Dr.  Faber's  "  Civilization  "  amongst  the  students  at 
these  examinations,  and  with  donations  from  other 
friends,  altogether  sixty  thousand  of  our  publications 
were  distributed  at  various  examination  centres.  During 
this  year  also  depots  for  our  literature  were  established 
in  Peking,  Moukden,  Tientsin,  Sian  fu,  Nanking,  and 
Chef  00 . 

Increased  orders  from  Formosa  and  Shantung  for  the 
Wang  Kwoh  Kung  Pao  showed  the  appreciation  of  the 
value   of   this   periodical. 


S.D.K.   WORK   IN  SHANGHAI  223 

5.    Apprfxiation    of   our  Work   by   Chinese 
Officials. 

In  1894  the  most  significant  feature  was  the 
recognition  of  our  work  by  high  Chinese  oflicials.  Chang 
Chih-tung,  Viceroy  of  Central  China,  sent  a  donation 
of  a  thousand  taels,  while  smaller  sums  came  from  Taotai 
Nieh,  of  Shantung,  and  from  one  of  the  Directors  of  the 
China  Merchants  Steamship  Company,  who  later  bought 
a  hundred  copies  of  my  "  Nineteenth  Century,"  and 
distributed  them  gratis  among  the  leading  officials  in 
Peking. 

Some  years  later  Taotai  Nieh  became  Governor  of 
Chekiang,  and  in  1905  induced  the  officials  and  gentry 
there  to  send  annual  orders  for  books  to  the  C.L.S.  (the 
S.D.K.  subsequently  became  known  as  the  Christian 
Literature  Society)  of  the  value  of  sixteen  hundred  taels. 
He  also  sent  a  donation  of  a  thousand  dollars  in  1902, 
His  wife  was  the  daughter  of  the  great  Tseng  Kwoh- 
fan,  and  sister  of  my  former  friend  in  Peking,  Marquis 
Tseng,  Ambassador  to  London.  She  had  literary  ability, 
and  after  reading  one  of  Madam.e  Shimoda's  textbooks 
on  the  duties  of  woman,  in  use  in  the  Peeress  School 
in  Tokyo,  she  adapted  the  same  for  use  in  Chinese 
girls'  schools.  One  of  her  sons  became  a  leading 
member  of  the  Y.M.C.A.  in  Shanghai,  while  another 
was  an  active  Christian  in  Changsha.  She  herself 
joined   the    Christian    Church  about    1914. 

In  1894  Mr.  Thomas  Hanbury  gave  six  hundred 
taels  towards  prizes  for  the  best  essays  from  M.A. 
candidates,  on  the  following  subjects  : — 

1.  The  advantages   to    be    derived   by   China    from   adopting    the 

railway  system,  the  coinage  of  silver  money,  and  an  Imperial 
postal  system,  such  as  Japan  has  recently  adopted. 

2.  The  advantages  to  accrue  if  China  would   introduce   machinery 

for  the  preparation  of  tea  and  for  the  reeling  of  silk,  so  as 
the  better  to  compete  with  foreign  countries, 

3.  The  benefit  derived  during  the  past  thirty  3'ears  by  the  excellent 

administration  of  the  Imperial  Maritime  Customs. 

4.  Show  whether  China  is  really  in  earnest  in  wishing  the  opium 

trade  stopped,   and    prove   it    is    possible   to   suppress    the 


224  FORTY-FIVE   YEARS   IN   CHINA 

immense  cultivation  of  the  poppy  in  China,  if  the  Government 
in  India  consents  to  cease  producing  the  drug. 
5.  Show  how  better  and  more  friendly  relations  may  be  established 
between  China  and  foreign  countries. 

During  this  year  I  republished  some  of  my  former 
articles  in  the  Shlh  Pao,  under  "  Essays  for  the  Times." 
Prefaces  on  "  The  Importance  of  Western  Learning  "  by 
Viceroy  Li  Hung-chang  and  Marquis  Tseng  were 
published    by    the    Society. 

6.    Commemoration   of   Empress -Dowager's 
Birthday. 

Although  not  directly  connected  with  the  work  of  the 
C.L.S.,  it  is  of  great  interest  to  record  the  presentation 
by  the  Christian  women  of  China  of  the  New  Testament 
to  the  Empress-Dowager  on  her  sixtieth  birthday,  in 
which  we  had  no  small  share.  In  the  spring  of  1894 
Mrs.  Robert  Swallow,  of  the  English  Methodist  Mission, 
wrote  to  my  wife  and  Mrs.  Fitch,  of  the  American 
Presbyterian  Mission,  suggesting  that  it  would  be  fitting 
if  the  Chinese  Christian  women  were  to  subscribe  to 
present  a  Bible  to  the  Empress -Dowager  on  her  sixtieth 
birthday.  A  committee  was  formed  in  Shanghai,  of 
which  Mr.  Stevenson,  of  the  C.I.M.,  acted  as  Chairman, 
Mrs.  Richard  as  Treasurer,  and  Mrs.  Fitch  as  Secretary. 
They  decided  it  was  better  to  send  a  copy  of  the  New 
Testament  instead  of  the  whole  Bible  to  Her  Majesty. 
Branch  committees  were  formed  in  the  various  provinces 
to  collect  the  money,  and  altogether  the  sum  of  twelve 
hundred  dollars  wras  subscribed.  An  Introduction  was 
prepared  by  Dr.  Muirhead,  of  the  London  Mission,  and 
translated  and  written  by  hand  by  a  former  teacher  of 
Dr.  Medhurst.  The  New  Testament  was  specially 
printed  on  the  best  style  of  foreign  paper,  and,  together 
with  the  Introduction,  was  elegantly  bound  in  solid  silver 
boards  made  in  Canton  in  a  design  in  relief  of  bamboo 
and  birds.  The  name  and  inscription  of  the  book 
were  in  solid  gold  characters.  The  book  was  enclosed 
in  a  solid  silver  casket  in  the  same  design  of  bamboo 
and    birds,    lined    with    old    gold    plush.        A    presenta- 


S.D.K.   WORK   IN   SHANGHAI  225 

tion  address  was  prepared  by  Mrs.  llichard,  and  translated 
by  me  into  suitable  Chinese  with  the  help  of  my  able 
Chinese  writer,  Mr,  Ts'ai.  The  address  read  as 
follows  : — 

To  the  Empress-Dowager  s  Most  Excellent  Majesty. 

Madam — 

Your  Imperial  Majesty,  having,  by  Divine  appointment,  under- 
taken the  government  of  China  in  times  of  unparalleled  internal  and 
external  trouble,  and  having  by  your  great  energy  and  wisdom 
restored  profound  peace  throughout  the  whole  Empire  and  established 
friendly  relations  with  all  nations,  has  called  forth  the  admiration,  not 
only  of  your  own  subjects,  but  of  those  of  other  nations  far  and  wide. 

Among  the  many  just  laws  which  your  Majesty  has  established,  not 
the  least  is  that  which  commands  the  same  protection  to  your 
Christian  subjects  as  to  those  of  all  other  religions :  Therefore,  we,  a 
few  thousand  Protestant  Christian  women  throughout  the  various 
provinces  of  your  Empire,  though  mostly  poor,  cannot  let  the 
auspicious  occasion  of  your  Imperial  Majesty's  sixtieth  birthday  pass 
without  testifying  our  loyalty  and  admiration.  We  do  so  by  presenting 
your  Majesty  with  the  New  Testament,  which  is  the  principal  Classic 
of  our  holy  religion,  namely  the  religion  of  Jesus  Christ,  which  is  the 
only  religion  which  practically  aims  at  the  salvation  of  the  whole 
world  from  sin  and  suffering.  The  truths  in  this  volume  have  brought 
peace  of  heart  and  purity  of  life,  with  hope  of  everlasting  happiness,  to 
countless  millions.  It  has  also  given  to  Christian  nations  the  just  laws 
and  stable  government  which  are  at  the  root  of  their  temporal 
prosperity  and  power.  On  this  account  we  hear  it  is  a  custom  in 
the  West  to  present  Empresses,  Queens,  and  Princesses  with  a  copy  of 
this  book  on  happy  occasions  in  their  lives.  We  Christians  in  your 
Empire  constantly  and  fervently  pray  that  your  Majesty  and  all  the 
members  of  the  Imperial  Household  may  also  get  possession  of  this 
secret  of  true  happiness  to  the  individual  and  prosperity  to  the  nation 
so  that  China  may  not  be  behind  any  nation  on  earth.  We  also  pray 
that  your  Imperial  Majesty  may  be  long  spared  to  help  by  your  wise 
counsel  in  the  government  of  China,  and  that  when  your  work  on  this 
earth  is  finished  you  may  have  a  happy  entrance  into  the  glorious 
land  prepared  for  all  those  who  carry  out  the  beneficent  will  of 
Heaven. 

We  remain, 

With  the  profoundest  veneration,  Madam, 

Your  Majesty's  most  grateful  subjects, 
The  Women  of  the  Protestant  Christian  Church  in  China. 

The   casket   was   sent  to  Peking   in  the   care  of  some 
missionaries,   and   was  presented   on   November    i  ith   by 

15 


226  FORTY-FIVE   YEARS   IN   CHINA 

Mr.  O'Connor,  British  Minister,  and  Colonel  Denby, 
American  Minister,  to  the  members  of  the  Tsungli  Yamen, 
who  presented  it  that  very  day  to  the  Empress - 
Dowager.  Though  a  few  days  late  for  the  birthday, 
it  arrived  most  opportunely  at  the  Palace  on  the 
same  day  as  Queen  Victoria's  gift  to  Her  Majesty. 
Shortly  afterwards  the  Emperor  sent  a  eunuch  to  the 
Bible  Society  depot  to  procure  the  Old  and  New 
Testament  and  other  Christian  books  for  His  Majesty's 
perusal.  On  November  27th  the  Tsungli  Yamen  received 
a  decree  from  the  Empress -Dowager  conferring  two  rolls 
of  silk  and  satin,  two  handkerchiefs,  and  embroidered 
articles  each  on  Mrs.  Richard  and  Mrs.  Fitch,  and  a 
roll  of  crape  and  a  handkerchief  each  upon  two  hundred 
other    ladies    who   had   taken   part    in    the   subscriptions. 

7.  Chinese  Public  School. 

It  was  not  long  after  I  came  to  Shanghai  before  I 
realized  that  it  was  a  pity  that  the  Municipal  Council, 
which  consisted  of  nine  foreigners,  while  spending  large 
sums  on  roads,  bridges,  and  police,  did  nothing  for  the 
education  of  Chinese.  The  idea  had  been  previously 
mooted  in  1890  by  Mr.  Addis,  of  the  Hongkong  and 
Shanghai  Bank,  who  proposed  as  a  subject  of  debate, 
"  The  Duty  of  Shanghai  to  Provide  Public  Schools  for  the 
Chinese." 

I  therefore  approached  Mr .  Jansen,  one  of  the  members 
of  the  Council,  pn  the  subject.  He  was  heartily  in 
favour  of  it,  and  secured  statistics  in  regard  to  existing 
native  schools  in  Shanghai,  and  asked  me  to  assist  him 
in  securing  information  as  to  what  was  done  for  native 
education  in  other  foreign  lands.  He  then  laid  a  scheme 
before  the  Council,  but  at  that  time  it  was  not  approved, 
and  owing  to  Mr.  Jansen's  death  the  matter  was  dropped 
for  some  years. 

8.  The  Anti-footbinding  Society. 

In  1895  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Archibald  Little  called  on  my 
wife  and  me,  and  asked  our  opinion  of  the  advisability  of 


S.D.K.   WORK   IN   SHANGHAI  227 

forming  an  Anti-footbinding  Society.  We  strongly 
encouraged  them. 

Besides  publishing  our  own  literature,  I  was  asked 
to  aid  in  the  production  and  publication  of  literature 
for  the  purpose  of  creating  a  public  opinion  against 
the  evils  of  footbinding.  The  name  Tien  Tsu  Hui 
(Natural  Foot  Society)  was  originally  started  in  Amoy, 
by  Mrs.  Macgowan  of  the  London  Mission,  but  this 
new  departure  was  associated  principally  with  Mrs. 
Archibald  Little.  She  first  set  about  organizing  the 
Society  in  Shanghai,  most  of  the  members  being 
prominent  ladies  of  the  community.  I  promised  to  have 
tracts  and  pamphlets  which  they  prepared  translated 
into  Chinese.  My  Chinese  writer  told  me  that  after 
he  had  read  the  first  tract  to  his  wife,  she  declared 
she  would  not  any  more  bind  the  feet  of  her  daughters. 
I  related  the  incident  to  Mrs.  Little,  who  felt  that  it 
augured  well  for  the  success  of  the  movement.  Soon 
after  this  some  Chinese  ladies  wrote  poems  against  the 
practice  of  footbinding,  which  were  published  and 
translated    into    English    verse    by    Dr.    Edkins. 

Mrs.  Little  for  the  next  few  years  travelled  through 
all  the  provinces  of  the  Empire,  organizing  branch 
Societies  wherever  she  went.  She  also  personally  visited 
Viceroys  and  Governors,  inducing  them  to  issue  proclama- 
tions against  footbinding,  and  finally  memorialized  the 
Empress-Dowager,  who  sent  forth  an  edict  exhorting  her 
subjects    to    give   up   the    custom. 

In  1903  a  young  girl  of  about  sixteen  years  of  age, 
Miss  King,  belonging  to  one  of  the  wealthiest  families 
near  Shanghai,  wrote  a  pamphlet  against  footbinding, 
remarkable  both  as  regards  the  style  of  the  composition 
and  arguments  used,  and  drew  two  striking  pictures  illus- 
trating the  arguments.  This  pamphlet  was  published  and 
circulated  all  through  the  Empire  by  the  branch  Societies. 

After  most  strenuous  and  successful  efforts  for  about 
eleven  years  Mrs.  Little  handed  over  the  work  of  the 
Society  to  a  committee  of  Chinese,  consisting  of  Admiral 
Sah,  Taotai  Shen  Tun-ho,  and  others,  who  undertook 
to  carry  on  the  campaign,  as  she  was  obliged  to  return 


228  FORTY-FIVE   YEARS   IN   CHINA 

to  England  with  her  husband,  whose  heaUh  was  rapidly 
failing.  The  Christian  Literature  Society  all  this  time 
were  agents  for  the  publications  of  the  Anti-footbinding 
Society,  and  so  continued  until  Mrs.  Little's  departure 
in    1906. 

9.  Work  of  Rev.  J.  Lambert  Rees. 
Before  leaving  for  Peking  in  September  1895,  ^  asked 
the  Rev.  J.  Lambert  Rees,  B.Sc,  of  the  London  Mission, 
who  had  made  remarkable  progress  in  the  Chinese 
language,  both  spoken  and  written,  to  translate  Lessing's 
remarkable  essay  on  "  The  Education  of  the  Human 
Race,"  and  I  left  him  my  Chinese  writer,  Mr.  Ts'ai,  one  of 
the  best  in  China,  to  assist  him.  When  I  returned  from 
that  eventful  visit  to  Peking,  I  found  that  the  essay  had 
been  translated.  I  had  it  printed  as  one  of  the  S.D.K. 
publications,  and  sent  a  copy  to  Viceroy  Chang*  Chih- 
tung.  He  was  so  pleased  that  he  sent  another  donation 
of  a  thousand  taels  for  the  Society,  asking  that  a  history 
of  the  whole  world  should  be  brought  out.  Mr.  Rees 
(who  had  at  this  time  joined  the  American  Protestant 
Episcopal  Mission)  was  kindly  allowed  by  Bishop  Graves, 
at  our  request,  to  spend  some  years  writing  an  original 
work  on  "  Ancient  and  Mediaeval  History  of  the  World," 
and  translating  it  into  Chinese  for  the  S.D.K.  It  was 
published  in  1900  in  three  large  volumes,  each  of  about 
the  size  of  a  volume  of  the  Encyclopaedia  Britannica, 
and  is  the  most  extensive  universal  history  the  Chinese 
possess.  Chang  Chih-tung  was  delighted,  and  in  191 1 
sent  three  thousand  dollars  (about  three  hundred  pounds) 
for  our  work.  Evidently  his  intense  prejudice  against 
Christianity  was  passing  away.  Other  high  officials  who 
were  provincial  examiners  for  the  Chii-ren  candidates, 
instead  of  basing  their  questions  on  Chinese  literature 
as  was  the  rule  in  all  past  time,  put  a  number  of  questions 
which  the  candidates  could  not  have  answered  unless  they 
had  read  Mr.  Rees'  History.  His  early  return  to  the 
homeland  owing  to  failure  of  health  in  his  family  was 
a  great  loss  to  China,  as  he  was  the  most  promising 
young  sinologue  among  us. 


CHAPTER    X 

INTERVIEWS   DURING  THE  CHINO- 
JAPANESE  WAR 

I.   The   Chino-Japanese   War. 

In  1894  occurred  the  Chino-Japanese  War.  An  agree- 
ment had  been  made  between  China  and  Japan  that 
no  troops  were  to  be  sent  by  either  nation  to  Korea  with- 
out first  informing  the  other.  But  the  Manchu  Govern- 
ment, as  was  usual  in  its  dealings  with  foreign  nations, 
was  not  straightforward.  A  British  steamer,  s.s.  Kao- 
shing,  was  chartered,  filled  with  troops,  and  sent  off 
post-haste  to  Korea  to  quell  local  disturbances  there. 
A  Japanese  gunboat,  on  the  look-out  for  it  in  the  Korean 
Sea,  fired  a  shot  across  her  bows,  an  intimation  to  the 
captain  to  stop.  On  his  giving  orders  to  stop,  there 
ensued  a  mutiny  among  the  Chinese  troops.  Seeing 
nothing  but  disaster  before  him,  a  German  named  Von 
Hanneken,  from  Tientsin,  who  had  been  asked  by  the 
Chinese  Government  to  accompany  the  troops,  jumped 
overboard  to  swim  ashore.  The  Chinese  soldiers  had 
the  cruelty  to  fire  upon  him  in  the  water  ;  but,  fortu- 
nately, he  escaped  without  injury.  The  Japanese  thought 
they  were  now  justified  in  their  declaration  of  war, 
which  was  prosecuted  in  Korea.  On  their  way  through 
Seoul,  the  capital  of  Korea,  the  Japanese  brutally 
murdered  the  Queen,  who  had  been  very  active  and 
clever  in  opposing  them,  and  annexed  Korea.  They 
then  directed  their  forces  to  IVIanchuria,  with  the  inten- 
tion of  marching  on  Peking.  This  greatly  alarmed  the 
Empress -Dowager,  as  she  feared  that  they  might  kill  her 
as  they  had  killed  the  Korean   Queen. 

229 


230  FORTY-FIVE   YEARS   IN   CHINA 

At  this  juncture  the  astute  Russian  Minister,  Count 
Cassini,  saw  an  opportunity  for  a  fine  stroke  of 
diplomacy  in  favour  of  Russia.  He  promised  the  pro- 
tection of  Russia  to  the  Empress -Dowager  if  China  on 
her  part  would  grant  certain  concessions  to  Russia. 
These  the  Empress -Dowager  readily  granted,  and  a  great 
wave  of  friendship  sprang  up  between  China  and  Russia. 
Port  Arthur  was  ceded  to  Russia,  and  permission  was 
granted  for  an  extension  of  the  Siberian  railway  through 
Manchuria.  As  the  Japanese  forces  neared  Peking, 
threatening  to  gain  a  firm  foothold  on  the  mainland  of 
China,  Russia,  Germany,  and  France  formed  an  alliance 
to  check  Japan.  Their  fleets  met  in  the  Gulf  of  Chihli, 
prepared  for  action  against  the  Japanese  fleet.  The 
Japanese  saw  they  could  not  fight  three  nations  in 
addition  to  China,  therefore  they  suspended  further 
military  action  and  decided  to  make  peace  on  the  best 
terms  possible.  But  their  victory  over  China  was  com- 
plete, and  the  Chinese  felt  most  keenly  the  humiliation 
of  being  conquered  by  a  "  nation  of  dwarfs,"  from  a 
land  only   one-tenth   the   size  and   population   of   China. 

2.  The  Influence  of  our  Literature  during 
THE  War. 

During  1894  the  circulation  of  the  Wang  Kwoh  Kung 
Pao  was  doubled,  and  so  great  was  the  demand  that 
one  month  a  second  edition  had  to  be  printed.  Dr. 
Allen's  articles  on  the  war  were  greatly  appreciated  as 
being  the  only  reliable  record  in  Chinese.  The  managers 
of  the  China  Merchants  Steamship  Company  doubled 
their  subscriptions,  and  distributed  some  of  our  pub- 
lications amongst  the  leading  officials  in  the  capital.  A 
Hanlin  resident  in  Shanghai  regularly  sent  some  thirty 
copies  of  the  Wang  Kwoh  Kung  Pao  to  his  Hanlin 
friends  in   Peking. 

About  this  time  in  Shanghai  I  finished  the  translation 
of  Mackenzie's  "  History  of  the  Nineteenth  Century," 
which  was  issued  in  order  to  give  the  statesmen  of  China 
information  regarding  the  recent  progress  of  the  world 
and  to  point  out  that  if  they  adopted  the  reforms  of  the 


THE   CHINO-JAPANESE  WAR  231 

West  there  would  be  hope  for  their  country.  In  the 
Introduction  to  the  translation  I  had  ventured,  after  great 
hesitation,  to  raise  the  question  "  What  is  the  cause  of 
the  foreign  wars,  indemnities,  and  repeated  humiliations 
suffered  by  China  during  the  last  sixty  years  ?  "  I  ex- 
pressed the  opinion  that  God  was  breaking  down  the 
barriers  between  all  nations  by  railways,  steamers,  and 
telegraphs  in  order  that  all  should  live  in  peace  and 
happiness  as  brethren  of  one  family,  but  that  the  Manchus, 
by  continual  obstruction,  determined  from  the  first  to 
prevent  this  intercourse.  They  were  thus  not  opposing 
foreigners  so  much  as  God  in  His  universal  ruling.  Their 
repeated  humiliations  were  punishments  from  Heaven. 
If  therefore  this  attitude  of  opposition  to  the  world  was 
the  cause  of  China's  defeats,  then  she  should  change  it 
for  one  of  goodwill  and  friendship,  and  it  would  not 
be  difficult  for  her  to  become  one  of  the  greatest  nations 
on  earth.  I  sent  copies  of  the  book  and  the  Introduc- 
tion to  some  of  the  Viceroys,  and  it  was  with  great 
anxiety  that  I  awaited  the  result  of  my  daring  statement. 
But  I  had  not  long  to  wait.  In  response  there  came  a 
telegram  from  Li  Hung-chang  asking  me  to  go  up 
and  see  him  in  Tientsin  ;  but  I  had  already  promised 
to  see  Chang  Chih-tung,  who  was  then  in  Nanking,  on 
the  subject  of  the  war.  It  was  not  till  after  the  close 
of  the  war,  when  Viceroy  Li  had  been  degraded  and  was 
living  in  retirement  in  Peking,  that  I  was  able  to  see  him. 

3.  Change  of  Attitude  of  the  Chinese 
Booksellers. 

For  eighty  years  public  opinion  in  China  had  set  its 
face  against  Christian  literature.  Christian  tracts  were 
actually  made  into  soles  for  Chinese  shoes,  and  the  final 
fate  of  most  of  the  rest  was  to  be  collected  and  burned, 
along  with  other  papers  containing  Chinese  characters, 
in  temple  buildings.  The  booksellers  of  China  refused 
to  handle,  on  any  account,  any  Christian  books  for  sale, 
considering  it  a  transaction  disloyal  to  their  country  and 
unworthy  of  honourable  men.  But  in  1895,  after  the 
appearance   of   Mackenzie's    "  History   of   the   Nineteenth 


232  FORTY-FIVE   YEARS   IN   CHINA 

Century  "  and  other  books  of  the  S.D.K.,  a  great  change 
came  over  the  Chinese  bookseller.  In  one  city  alone — 
Hangchow — there  were  no  less  than  six  pirated  editions 
of  the  "  Nineteenth  Century,"  one  edition  de  luxe  for 
the  rich,  the  others  for  people  of  lesser  means. 
Altogether  there  must  have  been  a  million  pirated  copies 
in  circulation  throughout  China.  The  "  Essays  for  the 
Times  "  were  also  pirated.  In  Peking  during  the  first 
months  of  the  Reform  Movement  in  the  winter  of  1895-6 
a  paper  was  started  by  the  Reform  Club,  not  only  re- 
printing the  articles  in  Dr.  Allen's  Wang  Kwoh  Kung 
Pao,  but  also  taking  its  very  name. 

^  By  this  time,  therefore,  the  barrier  that  had  so  long 
existed  between  Christian  and  non -Christian  literature 
was  broken  down.  Instead  of  regarding  the  publica- 
tions of  the  S.D.K.  as  unworthy  to  be  handled  by  them, 
Chinese  booksellers  were  only  too  glad  to  sell  our 
books,  and  small  wonder,  for  copies  of  the  "  Nineteenth 
Century  "  sold  at  two  dollars  in  Shanghai  could  be  sold 
at  six  dollars  in  Sian  fu.  We  have  no  means  of  knowing 
what  profits  were  made  by  those  who  pirated  our  books, 
but  those  who  bought  our  publications  at  our  own  depots 
secured  to  the  Society  an  annual  profit  of  more  than 
the  contributions  sent  us  from  England  and  Scotland, 
and  consequently  enabled  us  frequently  to  make  large 
free   grants   where   we   thought   they   would   be   useful. 

In  January  1895,  when  the  chief  oliicials  of  China 
were  all  alarmed  at  their  repeated  defeats  by  Japan, 
I  was  sent  for  by  Chang  Chih-tung,  then  the  Viceroy 
of  Nanking,  to  talk  over  the  best  means  of  extricating 
China  frojm  her  difficulties  and  setting  her  on  her  feet 
again . 

4.  Winter  in  Nanking. 

Some  extracts  from  a  letter  at  this  period  may  be 
of  interest  to  the  reader  : — 

The  day  was  wet,  rain  and  snow  in  turns,  with  strong  wind.  The 
roads  were  covered  with  deep  slush  which  splashed  about  with  each 
step ;  every  traveller  was  doubled  up  with  cold  as  if  with  colic.  There 
was  no  wheel  conveyance  of  any  kind,  but  a  chair  had  to  be  fetched 


THE   CHINO-JAPANESE   WAR  233 

from  Hsia  Kvvah  on  the  other  side  of  the  river,  for  one  was  not  sent  to 
the  landing  place  where  it  was  wanted.  It  would  have  been  too  much 
of  a  shock  to  conservatism  to  have  it  ready  on  the  spot  ;  it  must  be  left 
wliere  the  ancestors  kept  it,  and  the  chair  mii'^t  be  the  very  one  used 
by  the  ancestors,  even  to  the  split  boards  and  ragged  calico  ;  and  the 
wind  must  blow  through  the  very  crack  which  vexed  the  ancestors. 
After  some  half-hour's  delay  in  hunting  for  the  chair-bearers,  who  are 
in  demand  by  any  steamer  that  comes,  we  started. 

There  are  many  tumble-down  houses  on  both  sides  of  the  streets 
through  which  we  passed,  but  what  is  most  striking  to  the  stranger  is 
the  mat  sheds  on  each  side.  They  are  about  four  feet  high,  seven  feet 
long,  and  four  feet  wide.  They  contain  neither  table,  chair,  nor  bed  ; 
the  cold  ground,  covered  with  a  little  straw,  and  a  mat,  serves  for  the 
bed  ;  the  only  furniture  is  a  cooking-pot  with  a  fire  under  it  and  some 
ragged  covering  which  was  once  a  quilt.  The  old  men  and  women 
there  cannot  resist  the  cold  long,  and  the  scanty  food  of  the  young 
lads  brings  on  disease  in  their  starved  frames.  Many  try  to  eke  out 
their  living  by  gambling,  as  they  have  nothing  else  to  do.  Their 
skins  are  blue  with  cold,  and  broken  up  with  white  scales.  Their 
sisters  were  more  fortunate,  for  they  were  sold  long  ago  to  a  life  of 
comparative  iluxury — shame  some  will  call  it — in  order  to  ward  off  the 
day  of  starvation  from  their  families  a  few  months  longer.  Terrible 
as  the  poverty  is,  yet  Nature  asserts  lierself  among  those  who  can 
no  more  dream  of  having  a  wife  than  of  flying.  They  occasionally 
divide  their  meal  with  a  poor  starving  widow  who  has  a  babe  in  an 
adjoining  shed,  and  who  for  it  shares  a  night's  hospitality  till  another 
babe  comes.  But  it  cannot  be  reared  ;  it  is  cast  in  the  night  into  the 
cold  not  fifty  yards  away,  and  by  the  morning  the  hungry  dogs  do  not 
leave  even  bones  behind,  only  a  blood-stained  rag. 

Look  at  the  chair-bearers  ;  they  are  better  off,  but  they  have  no  shoes 
or  stockings  ;  their  legs  are  bare  to  the  knees.  They  tie  on  some  straw 
sandals  with  straw  strings  and  trudge  along  most  happily,  ankle-deep 
in  the  freezing  slush,  because  they  have  something  to  do.  They  can 
earn  their  supper  by  the  slow  process  of  gradual  freezing  and  grafting 
disease  into  their  system. 

We  arrive  at  one  of  the  viceregal  inns  where  high  mandarins  stay. 
Instead  of  having  a  house  of  three  stories  one  above  another,  these 
have  their  space  of  ground  walled  round  ;  fronting  the  street  is  a 
house  with  a  front  and  a  back  door,  each  about  eight  feet  wide  ;  the 
front  door  is  only  shut  at  night,  the  back  door  is  open  night  and  day. 
Behind  this  there  arc  two  houses  like  it,  each  separated  by  an  open 
court  of  twenty  feet.  The  entrance  to  the  three  is  through  the  one 
front  door.  The  central  part  of  the  hotel  has  its  front  and  back  doors 
open  day  and  night,  the  back  row  alone  has  only  one  door  open  ;  the 
back  door  is  walled  up,  as  there  are  no  houses  behind.  Through  these 
doors  the  cold  wind  blows  night  and  day.  Then,  again,  the  whole  of 
the  front  of  each  row  is  made  up  of  paper  window-frames  with  wide 
slits  between  each   frame ;   and  the   rooms  are   partitioned  off   with 


234  FORTY-FIVE   YEARS   IN   CHINA 

boards,  also  with  wide  fissures  between  each.  As  the  wind  is  high  it 
goes  through  our  bedroom  like  water  through  a  sieve.  Then  there  is 
no  ceiling,  and  the  partition  a  little  way  above  one's  head  connects 
with  the  wide  passage  outside  ;  thus  the  first-class  bedroom  is  only  a  roof 
to  prevent  the  rain  and  snow  falling  on  one  ;  the  winter  midnight  air 
has  full  and  free  access.     This  is  our  first-class  hotel. 

In  the  bedrooms  are  two  wooden  frames  which  they  call  beds ;  they 
are  only  bare  boards  without  a  thread  of  bedding.  There  are  also  two 
chairs — only  one  is  usable — a  table,  and  a  narrow  bench  about  four 
inches  wide  to  sit  on.  On  the  table  there  is  a  primitive  lamp,  probably 
invented  about  the  time  of  Abraham.  You  ask  for  bedding  ;  they  bring 
a  reed  mattress  and  a  quilt,  damp  and  greasy,  having  been  used  for 
years  without  washing.  To  crown  matters,  the  landlady,  with  a  little 
girl  of  six  years  of  age  in  her  arms,  comes  to  the  door  to  give  in- 
structions to  her  husband  about  the  bedding,  and  the  child  in  her 
arms  has  measles.  They  do  not  see  any  impropriety  in  bringing 
bedding  from  a  house  where  there  is  measles.  So  there  is  neither 
warmth  nor  health  nor  sleep  for  one,  while  he  keeps  watch  on  his 
narrow  bed  and  sees  his  breath  rise  about  him  like  smoke,  because  the 
temperature  is  far  below  freezing  point. 

And  this  is  the  condition  of  society  under  one  of  the  greatest  Vice- 
roys in  the  Empire.  Who  will  call  a  Government  which  will  tolerate 
such  poverty  and  wretchedness  at  its  very  doors  civilized  and  fit 
to  be  put  on  a  par  with  Christian  nations  ?  Such  misery  of  tens  of 
thousands  in  these  mat  sheds  should  melt  hearts  of  stone  to  do  some- 
thing to  save  them. 

5.  First   Interview  with    Chang   Chih-tung. 

My  interview  with  the  Viceroy  took  place  in  his 
Yamen  on  February  5th,  Mr.  Liang  T'ung-yen,  a 
returned  student  from  America  and  head  of  the  foreign 
bureau  of  the  Viceroy,  being  the  only  other  present. 
The  day  was  not  only  a  Chinese  New  Year  holiday 
(the  eleventh  day  of  the  first  moon),  but  also  one  of 
the  Yamen  holidays,  consequently  the  few  servants  that 
were  about  did  not  wear  hats,  and  the  courts  had  the 
stillness   of   our   English   Sunday. 

After  1  had  wasted  half  an  hour  in  the  chief 
mandarin's  waiting -hall,  Mr.  Liang  entered  in  ordinary 
dress  and  informed  me  that  the  Viceroy  was  busy  just 
then,  and  asked  me  what  I  had  to  say.  I  replied  that 
I  would  communicate  it  to  the  Viceroy  myself,  to  prevent 
any  misunderstanding  in  transmission.  So  we  fell  into 
conversation   about   the    war,    he   telling   me   of   the   loss 


^n^Khi^.        li^Bi^. 


VICEROY    CHANG   CHIH-TUNG. 


To  face  p.  234. 


THE   CHINO-JAPANESE   WAR  235 

of  Wei-hai-wei,  news  that  had  reached  Shanghai  after 
I  had  left.  He  also  confirmed  me  in  the  impression 
I  had  received  before  in  Wuchang  and  Tientsin,  that 
most  of  the  Chinese  students  sent  abroad  returned  re- 
converted to  Chinese  ways,  as  they  looked  only  at  the 
failings  of  Western  civilization,  comparing  them  with 
the  excellences  in  Chinese  civilization.  Like  Ku  Hung- 
ming,  he  was  very  critical  and  in  a  state  of  immature 
experience.  He  told  me  that  the  Chinese  felt  that 
Europeans  were  laughing  at  their  helplessness  and 
would  not  help  them. 

After  about  half  an  hour  Mr.  Liang  was  called  to 
the  Viceroy.  Shortly  afterwards  he  returned,  wearing 
his  official  hat,  to  invite  me  to  see  the  Viceroy.  By 
this  time  it  was  half -past  one.  As  soon  as  I  reached 
the  inner  court  the  Viceroy,  in  full  robes,  but  wearing 
his  hood  to  protect  him  from  the  cold,  came  outside 
the  door  to  receive  me.  In  Chinese  fashion  I  bowed 
first  to  him  there,  and  afterwards  again  when  I  entered 
the  room,  thanking  him  for  his  kindness  the  previous 
year  in  sending  a  thousand  taels  to  the  S.D.K. 

I  then  made  my  speech  with  the  following  points  : 
that  unless  immediate  peace  were  made  not  a  single 
reform  was  possible  ;  that  thorough  reform  rested  upon 
right  education  (at  this  the  Viceroy  was  unhesitating 
in  his  agreement,  interrupting  me  to  show  his  approval)  ; 
that  the  best  test  of  the  efficiency  of  any  Government 
was  its  ability  to  keep  its  people  alive  and  free  from 
destitution  and  misery  (at  this  the  Viceroy  was  very 
solemn,  as  though  it  were  a  new  idea  to  him)  ;  that 
God  demanded  reform  on  the  part  of  China,  and  that 
if  she  neglected  it  God  would  appoint  some  other  nation 
to  reform  her,  as  had  been  the  case  in  India,  Egypt, 
and   other  nations. 

In  reply  he  dwelt  on  the  unreasonableness  of  the 
Japanese  in  breaking  their  former  peace,  and  said  that 
the  Chinese  would  never  submit  to  them,  and  that  Japan 
would  exhaust  herself  like  France  under  Napoleon.  He 
repeated  an  illustration  I  had  made  in  my  speech  of 
inability  to  meet  skill  without  skill,  comparing  the  chances 


236  FORTY-FIVE   YEARS   IN   CHINA 

of  life  to  a  game  of  chess,  as  if  it  had  made  some  effect 
on  him.  Lastly,  he  asked,  Uke  a  man  at  his  wits'  end, 
how  peace  could  be  brought  about,  for  China  would 
never  submit  to  the  Japanese  demands  and  foreigners 
would  not  help.  I  replied  that  if  he  resolved  on  peace 
and  put  his  shoulder  to  the  wheel  with  the  energy  he 
had  shown  in  other  matters  he  could  unite  the  divided 
counsels  in  Peking,  carry  with  him  the  opinion  of  the 
eight  provinces  over  which  he  ruled,  and  win  the  rest 
by  his  fame.  At  this  he  smiled,  evidently  pleased  with 
the  compliment.  1  further  pushed  the  argument  where 
it  seemed  to  be  telling,  saying  that  God  had  not  placed 
him  in  that  position  of  high  eminence  without  meaning 
him  to  render  greater  service  than  ever  to  China.  He 
should  advise  peace,  and  then  the  way  would  be  clear 
for  reforms. 

He  thanked  me  for  the  services  I  was  rendering  to 
China,  saying  that  if  I  could,  through  my  books,  bring 
forty  of  the  highest  officials  to  see  eye  to  eye,  then  the 
rest  of  the  mandarins  would  follow  their  lead.  He  was 
convinced  that  reforms  must  be  made  before  any  nation 
could  prosper,  but  he  added  that  each  nation  had  some 
fundamental  principles  that  it  would  never  change.  On 
leaving  he  asked  why  I  should  return  immediately  to 
Shanghai,  and  when  I  would  visit  him  again.  He  then 
invited  me  to  drink  tea,  and  put  on  his  red -button  hat 
and  hood.  Seeing  this,  I  begged  him  not  to  think 
of  coming  out  into  the  cold.  He  then  ordered  Mr. 
Liang  to  see  me  off  in  my  chair. 

The  previous  night  I  had  slept  little  owing  to  the 
cold,  as  1  had  lain  practically  in  the  open  air.  The 
second  night,  after  feeling  the  Viceroy's  mental  pulse, 
I  again  had  little  sleep,  partly  because  of  the  cold  and 
partly  because  I  was  thinking  over  plans  for  saving 
the  poor  millions  of  China.  In  the  small  hours  of  the 
morning,  therefore,  I  wrote  out  a  great  scheme  that 
came  into  my  mind  : — 

I.  That  China  should  grant  some  foreign  Power  absolute  authority 
to  settle  all  the  foreign  relations  of  China  for  a  definite  term 
of  years. 


THE   CHINO-JAPANESE   WAR  237 

2.  That  the  same  Power  should  introduce  reforms  of  all  kinds. 

3.  That  one  representative  of  this  Power  should  control  each  depart- 

ment of  railways,  mines,  industries,  etc. 

4.  That  all  Chinese  ranks  be  conferred  by  the  Chinese  Emperor  as 

before. 

5.  That  at  the  end  of  the  term  this  Power  should  hand  back  to  China 

all  its  assets  and  liabilities. 

6.  Second  Interview  with  Chang  Chih-tung. 

I  was  not  back  in  Shanghai  a  week  elaborating  this 
scheme  before  I  received  a  telegram  from  the 
Viceroy  to  proceed  at  once  to  Nanking  for  a  second 
interview,  my  travelling  expenses  to  be  paid  by  him. 
On  February  i6th  I  was  back  in  Nanking.  Mr.  Liang 
called  to  tell  me  that  the  Viceroy  would  see  me  at 
8.30  a.m.  next  day.  I  made  use  of  the  call  by  giving 
him  the  outlines  of  my  scheme  for  foreign  supervision 
for  China,  so  that  he  might  speak  of  it  to  the  Viceroy, 
who  would  then  have  time  to  think  it  over  and  at  the 
interview  be  prepared  with  criticisms.  Upon  arriving 
at  the  Yamen  on  February  17th  at  the  appointed  time 
I  had  to  wait  with  several  officials.  I  met  there  a 
blue -button  man  named  Yu,  who  said  he  was  from  Yung 
Ching,  had  been  in  Shantung,  and  was  now  at  Yang- 
chow,  having  been  many  years  at  the  Foreign  Office. 
A  red -button  man  then  came  in,  a  nephew  of  Kwoh 
Sung-t'ao,  who  was  formerly  Minister  to  England.  He 
spoke  of  China  as  being  in  a  great  fix  through  not 
understanding  how  to  manage  things.  Later  I  learned 
that  he  belonged  to  the  Arsenal  and  Naval  College.  He 
spoke  of  the  Chinkiang  Commissioner  as  his  friend,  and 
inquired  after  Dr.  Fryer.  Later  there  came  in  a  crystal - 
button  man,  who  said  he  knew  Dr.  Mackenzie,  of 
Tientsin,  and  asked  me  if  I  knew  him.  Then  came 
another  red -button  man,  at  whose  entry  all  rose  and 
bowed.  I  followed  suit.  After  that  he  took  a  high  seat 
and  invited  all  the  rest  to  sit.  He  was  Jui,  the  Treasurer, 
who  appoints  the  district  magistrates  to  their  offices. 

At  eleven  Mr.  Liang  entered,  and,  looking  at  my 
watch,  1  asked  him  if  I  had  been  right  in  coming  as 
requested    at     half -past     eight.      He     replied     that     the 


238  FORTY-FIVE   YEARS   IN   CHINA 

Viceroy  had  wished  me  to  come  early,  but  that  he  had 
been  in  the  garden  and  was  not  in  a  humour  to  be 
disturbed.  I  then  utiUzed  the  time  with  him  in  talking 
over  China's  critical  situation  and  my  remedy  for  it, 
so  that  he  might  clearly  understand  what  I  had  come 
to  propose  to  the  Viceroy.  This  lasted  nearly  an  hour. 
Liang  then  told  me  that  the  Viceroy's  pet  scheme  was 
to  send  young  princes  of  China  abroad.  I  asked  if  he 
proposed  to  send  those  between  twenty  and  forty  years  of 
age,  but  Liang  said  the  Viceroy  wished  the  youngest  to  go 
abroad  for  education.  I  replied  that  this  would  delay 
Reform  too  long,  that  the  first  party  of  princes  to  be  sent 
abroad  should  be  those  who  in  a  few  years  would  wield 
supreme  power,  or  the  time  for  Reform  would  be  past. 

At  this  stage  a  messenger  came  in,  asking  me  to 
go  to  the  Viceroy.  He  did  not  appear  as  friendly  as 
on  my  former  visit,  for  he  seemed  to  have  a  cloud  on 
his  face.  After  the  first  salutations .  were  over,  he  asked 
me  what  my  magic  scheme  {miao  fa)  was,  and  I  at 
once  started  three  of  my  points. 

In  reply  to  these  points  the  Viceroy  stated  that  he 
could  not  possibly  propose  a  temporary  Protectorate,  but 
he  was  in  favour  of  an  alliance  of  mutual  benefit  with 
some  Power  during  a  period  of  not  more  than  ten  years, 
granting  commercial  concessions,  such  as  increase  of 
treaty  ports,  in  return  for  the  opening  of  railways,  mines, 
and  introduction  of  industries,  etc.  But  some  measures 
would  have  to  be  devised  so  as  not  to  arouse  the  jealousy 
of  other  Powers. 

7.  Interview  with  First  Peace  Envoy  to  Japan, 
Chang  Yin-huan. 
Soon  after  I  returned  to  Shanghai,  Chang  Yin-huan, 
the  chief  Peace  Envoy,  was  on  his  way  to  Japan  to 
sound  the  Government  on  terms  of  peace.  Feeling  im- 
pelled to  seek  an  interview  with  him,  I  sent  him  a 
copy  of  my  translation  of  Mackenzie's  "  Nineteenth 
Century,"  with  my  Preface,  hoping  that  he  would  read  it, 
and  asking  if  he  would  grant  me  an  interview.  In 
reply   he    gave    mc    an    appointment    for    February    28th. 


THE   CHINO-JAPANESE   WAR  239 

In  my  speech  I  first  dwelt  on  the  dangers  that  faced 
China  : — 

1.  Dangers    from   foreign  countries,    from   France,   from   Russia's 

Siberian  railway. 

2.  Dangers   from   the  ignorance  of   her  own  officials  and   people, 

resulting  in  suspicion,  corruption,  and  poverty. 

3.  Danger  from  the  non-increase  of  her  population,  inviting  power- 

ful nations  to  divide  her,  as  they  did  Africa. 

I  next  proposed  measures  to  avert  China's  fall  : — 

1.  That  two  princes  be  sent  as  Peace  Plenipotentiaries,  preferring  a 

money  indemnity  to  any  other  terms. 

2.  That  an  alliance  be  made  with  a  leading  Power  to  effect  bene- 

ficial reforms. 

3.  That  Sir  Robert  Hart  should  daily  confer  with  the  Emperor,  and 

that  each  Viceroy  and  Governor  should  have  expert  advisers 
in  like  manner. 

4.  That   China    should   later   unite   with   other   Powers  to  form   a 

Universal  Arbitration  Court  by  which  international  wars  and 
militarism  should  be  ended. 

I  then  dilated  on  my  scheme  (described  above)  of 
a  mutual  alliance  with  one  leading  Power.  To  this 
he  said,  "  Russia  is  the  Power  which  all  others  fear  "  ; 
but  he  spoke  of  England  as  being  more  reliable.  I 
pointed  out  that  joint  alliances  with  all  nations  were 
fatal. 

In  his  answering   speech   the   Envoy   remarked  : — 

1.  That  the  corruption  of  Chinese  officials  was  awful  and  hopeless. 

2.  That  it  was  useless  to  lay  any  plans  of  reform  before  the  Chinese 

Government. 

3.  That  he  had  planned  to  have  members  of  the  Imperial  family  go 

abroad,  but  was  advised  not  to  submit  his  proposals  to  the 
Government,  as  it  would  only  injure  his  influence. 

4.  That  men  were  allowed  to  charge  others  with  many  evils,  and  no 

inquiry  was  made  whether  these  charges  were  true  or  false. 

5.  That  railways  would  be  a  great  gain  to  the  country,  and  in  wartime 

soldiers  could  easily  be  amassed  anywhere. 

6.  That  Prince  Kung  was  afraid  of  going  to  Japan,  but  the  Japanese 

would  be  delighted. 

7.  That  the  Japanese  were  only  apparently  strong,  not  really  so. 

8.  That   very  few   of  those   whom    China   had    sent   abroad   were 

competent  observers. 


240  FORTY-FIVE   YEARS   IN  CHINA 

9.  That  if  I  had  any  plan  he  would  be  glad  to  hear  it. 
(I  then  laid  it  before  him  ;    see  infra.) 

10.  That   he  fully  agreed  with  me  in   nine-tenths  of  what  I  said, 

thanked  me  heartily  for  my  good  intentions,  but  it  was  too 
late  for  any  plan  now. 

On  my  saying  that  there  were  ten  more  days,  he 
said  : — 

11.  That  China  had  alienated  foreign  Powers,  and  none  would  help 

her   now. 

12.  That  after  being  so  well  received  abroad  by  foreign  countries  he 

felt  ashamed  of  the  manner  in  which  Foreign  Ministers  were 
treated  in  Peking. 

On  my  speaking  of  giving  sufficient  inducements,  he 
answered  : — 

13.  That   nothing  could   be   done  in    Peking  without  a  great  and 

radical  change  of  everything. 

Despair  of  the  present  Dynasty  seemed  deeply  fixed 
in  his  mind.  He  had  been  reading  the  books  I  had 
sent   him  the   previous   day,   and   had   observed  : — 

(a)  That   I   attributed   the   progress   of   Japan   to   the   adoption   of 

Christian  principles  of  civilization. 
{b)  That   I    showed    how   China's    poverty  could    be    replaced   by 

prosperity. 

But  he  gave  me  no  hope  of  any  immediate  action  on  the 
lines  I  suggested,  for  until  peace  was  made  with  Japan 
everything  was  hopeless.  The  interview  lasted  nearly 
two  hours,  and  the  range  of  subjects  discussed  was  very 
large. 

8.  Third  Interview  with  Chang  Chih-tung. 

In  March  I  had  again  to  visit  the  Viceroy  in  Nanking 
in  order  to  lay  further  measures  before  him.  I  took 
the  opportunity  of  asking  him  to  write  a  Preface  to 
my  translation  of  Mackenzie's  "  History  of  the  Nine- 
teenth  Century."      On   the   return   journey   Li   Ching-mi, 


THE  CHINO-JAPANESE   WAR  241 

son  of  Li  Hung-chang,  was  on  the  steamer,  and,  after 
seeing  a  copy  of  my  translation,  he  volunteered  to  write 
a  Preface  to  it.  I  thanked  him  for  this  kind  offer, 
and  wondered  if  his  father  would  not  also  write  a 
Preface.  During  the  conversation  he  referred  to  the 
poverty  of  the  people,  and  consequently  their  inability  to 
raise  more  revenue  or  loans.  Whilst  he  agreed  that 
Chang  Chih-tung  did  not  keep  any  money  of  the  revenue 
in  his  own  hands,  he  stated  that  he  was  very  tyrannical, 
robbing  the  pawnshops,  salt  merchants,  and  others  of 
all  their  savings. 


16 


CHAPTER    XI 

PRESENTATION    OF    MISSION    MEMORIAL    IN 

PEKING 

I.   Memorial  Committee. 

As  a  result  of  my  paper  at  the  Missionary  Conference 
in  1890,  calling  attention  to  the  official  circulation  of 
calumnies  against  the  Christian  Church,  and  proposing 
that  the  Throne  should  be  memorialized  on  the  matter, 
a  committee  of  seven,'  consisting  of  Dr.  Allen,  Dr.  Ash- 
more,  Dr.  Blodget,  Dr.  John,  Bishop  Moule,  Dr.  Wherry, 
and  myself,  was  appointed  to  draw  up  a  Memorial  setting 
forth  the  true  aim  of  Christian  Missions,  and  requesting 
religious  liberty.  In  process  of  time,  a  long  Memorial 
was  prepared,  but,  owing*  to  various  circumstances,  no 
opportunity  arose  to  present  it.  By  1895,  however,  events 
had  occurred  that  demanded  immediate  action  on  the 
part  of  the  Memorial  Committee. 

2.  Persecutions  of  Christians. 

Unfortunately,  my  prophecy  at  the  1890  Conference 
that  we  were  on  the  brink  of  a  volcano  ready  at  any 
moment  to  burst  forth  proved  only  too  true.  In  1892 
anti-missionary  riots  broke  out  in  -Wuhu  and  all  along 
the  Yangtze  valley,  and  Chang  Chih-tung,  then  Viceroy 
of  Wuchang,  continued  hostile  to  Christian  Missions. 
In  my  papers,  both,  daily  and  weekly,  in  printing  procla- 
mations favourable  to  missionaries  and  laying  stress  on 
the  good  deeds  of  missionaries  in  famine  relief  and 
medical  work,  I  did  all  I  couild  to  influence  the  people, 
but  persecution  continued  in  the  Yangtze  valley. 

In  1893  two  Swedish  missionaries  at  Sungpu,  not  far 
'  For  details  see  "  Conversion  by  the  Million,"  chap.  xxvi. 

SM2 


PRESENTATION   OF  MISSION  MEMORIAL    243 

from  Hankow,  were  fiercely  attacked.  They  climbed 
to  the  top  of  their  house  and  tried  to  escape  over  the 
roofs  of  other  houses,  but  they  were  pursued  like  rats, 
and  when  caught  were  brutally  murdered.,  When  the 
crime  was  reported  to  the  Viceroy,  he  expressed  no  horror 
of  the  deed,  but  he  uttered  the  following  memorable 
words  :  "  We  do  not  want  these  missionaries.  We  oppose 
them,  we  raise  riots  against  them,  we  destroy  their 
churches,  we  kill  their  converts,  we  murder  the  foreigners 
themselves.  Yet  the  astonishing  thing  is  that  the  more 
we  kill  them,  the  more  anxious  they  seem  to  come." 

In  September  of  1893  I  made  a  special  visit  to 
Hankow  in  order  to  consult  Dr.  Griffith  John  and  Mr. 
Hill  with  regard  to  the  Memorial.  Meanwhile,  serious 
riots  broke  out  in  Szechuen.  Nor  was  the  anti- 
missionary  movement  confined  to  the  Yangtze  valley. 
It   spread   to   the   province   of   Fukien. 

In  April  1895  the  ghastly  murder  of  eleven  C.M.S. 
missionaries,  mostly  women,  took  place.  This  sent  a 
thrill   of   horror    throughout    the    civilized    world. 

I  wrote  urging  the  members  of  the  Memorial  Committee 
to  proceed  to  Peking  at  once,  and  make  an  attempt  to 
reach  the  highest  authorities.  Although  most  of  the 
committee  were  unable  to  leave  their  posts,  they  were 
all  agreed  that  immediate  action  was  imperative,  so  they 
gave  me  full  powers  to  act  in  consultation  with  the 
committee  members  residing  in  Peking,  Dr.  Wherry 
and  Dr.  Blodget.  Before  leaving  Shanghai,  I  drafted 
a  shorter  and  more  practical  Memorial,  which  was 
thoroughly  approved  by  Dr.  Allen.  I  obtained  later  the 
signatures  to  it  of  twenty  leading  representatives  of  the 
missionary  body,  including  several  bishops. 

On  arrival  in  Peking  in  September,  I  found  that  Dr. 
Blodget,  who  had  drafted  a  statement  of  Christianity  for 
presentation  to  the  Throne,  had  gone  home  on  furlough, 
leaving  his  manuscript  with  Dr.  Wherry.  It  was  agreed 
that  the  shorter  Memorial  should  be  presented  to  the 
Tsungli  Yamen,  and  that  Dr.  Blodget's  apologia,  dealing 
at  great  length  with  the  same  subject,  should  accompany 
it  in  book  form.     As  the  Chinese  of  both  documents  had 


244  FORTY-FIVE   YEARS   IN   CHINA 

to  be  carefully  revised  and  written  out   by  hand,   some 
time   elapsed   before   they   were    ready    for    presentation. 

3.  First  Interview  with  Li  Hung-chang. 

Meanwhile,  preliminary  steps  had  to  be  taken  to 
approach  the  Tsungli  Yamen.  At  that  time  there  were 
eight  members.  Prince  Kung  being  President,  I  there- 
fore called  on  Li  Hung-chang,  who  was  then  in  disgrace 
because  he  had  failed  to  come  out  victorious  in  the  war 
with  Japan,  and  asked  if  he  would  give  me  a  letter 
of  introduction  tQ  Prince  Kung.  My  interview  took 
place  on  September  17th,  and'  I  quote  from  my  notes  at 
that  time. 

"  The  Viceroy  was  unusually  gracious,  insisting  on  my 
staying  to  dinner  with  him,  during  which  he  used  some 
very  kind  words  toi  me.      On  public  matters  he  said  : — 

1.  That  the  Emperor  had  no  mind  of  his  own,  but  depended  on 

every  last  adviser. 

2.  That  the  great  mandarins  in  power  knew  nothing  about  foreign 

matters,  few  of  them  reading  such  a  book  as  my  transla- 
tion of  Mackenzie's  "  Nineteenth  Century,"  which  he  had 
personally  read  repeatedly,  but  leaving  it  to  their  Secretaries 
to  read. 

3.  That  all  had  turned  against  him,  even  Chang  Chih-tung  advocat- 

ing fighting  to  the  last. 

4.  That  the  high  Ministers  in  Peking  spoke  of  Western  education 

as  "  Kwei-tze  hsuoh  "  ("  devil  s  learning")  and  spent  all  their 
time  on  Chinese  learning  alone. 

5.  That  the   essays  which  occupied  the  minds  of  the  examination 

candidates  were  of  no  practical  use. 

6.  That  the  Government  would  not  grant  posts  to  those  qualified  in 

Western  learning. 

7.  That   the  Shin   Wen   Pao  (a   paper  published   in  Shanghai   and 

thought  to  be  partly  financed  by  Chang  Chih-tung)  was 
disgraceful. 

8.  That  the  number  of  those  who  could  read   high-class  Chinese 

style  was  very  small. 

"  In  conversation  with  Mr.  Pethick,  an  American,  who 
was  one  of  Li  Hung-chang's  foreign  secretaries,  I  gained 
the  following  information  : — 

I,  That  Weng  T'ung-ho  (the  Prime  Minister)  was  practically  the 
Emperor  of  China. 


PRESENTATION   OF  MISSION  MEMORIAL    245 

2.  That     the    Chinese    Government    needed     to    understand    that 

treaties  were  as  binding  as  any  laws,  and  that  whenever 
they  were  neglected  or  broken  war  ensued. 

3.  That  a  slight    change   of   attitude   was   seen  on  the  part  of  the 

Government  by  its  reprinting  the  articles  of  the  Wang 
Kwoh  Kung  Pao,  our  S.D.K.  magazine,  in  the  Peking  Gazette 
office. 

4.  That  the  new  heads  of  the  Tsungli  Yamen  had  been  complaining 

to  the  Western  Governments  of  the  pressure  of  their 
Ministers  in  Peking  in  regard  to  the  recent  riots. 

"  In  regard  to  my  presentation  of  the  missionary 
Memorial,  he  suggested  that  I  should  be  introduced  to 
Prince  Kung  by  Weng  T'ung-ho,  the  Prime  Minister,  and 
that  when  I  saw  him  I  should  give  him  a  history  of 
my   former    dealings    with    Viceroys." 

4.  Following  Interviews  with  Li  Hung-chang. 

On  September  23rd  I  called  again  on  the  ex- Viceroy  at 
3  p.m.,  as  Pethick  had  previously  told  me  it  would 
be   a   kindness.      The   Viceroy   said  : — 

1.  That  Hu  Tung,  the  head  of  the  Nei  Kwoh,  meeting  him  coming 

back  from  calling  on  Foreign  Ministers,  memorialized  the 
Emperor  against  him,  saying  that  Li  Hung-chang  was 
having  treasonable  intercourse  with  foreigners, 

2.  That  the    head   of    the    Hanlin    College    would   not   allow   the 

Hanlins  to  study  foreign  books,  and  that  he  was  always 
cursing  foreign  learning  and  religion. 

3.  That  all  the  Hanlins  and  all  Reformers  were  powerless  so  long  as 

power  remained  in  the  hands  of  these  anti-foreign  old  men. 

4.  That  the  Manchus  were  of  no  account. 

5.  That  I  should  send  my  books  to  Prince  Kung. 

6.  After  my  suggestion  that  Pethick  should  become  a  member  of 

Prince  Kung's  family  in  order  that  the  motives  and  methods 
of  Li  Hung-chang  might  be  understood  and  not  left  at  the 
mercy  of  ignorant  opponents,  he  said  :  •'  You  should  seek  an 
interview  with  Weng  T'ung-ho  by  letter  stating  that  you 
have  been  many  years  in  China  and  have  been  engaged  in 
the  distribution  of  famine  relief  and  in  the  enlightenment  of 
the  people,  and  that  you  therefore  know  well  the  condition 
of  China,  and  that  as  you  have  a  very  urgent  matter  of  great 
importance  to  the  State  to  lay  before  him  in  person,  you  will 
be  glad  if  he  will  appoint  some  time  when  he  is  at  leisure  for 
you  to  see  him." 


246  FORTY-FIVE   YEARS   IN   CHINA 

This  he  said  at  the  end  of  an  hour's  conversation,  during 
which   I  had  made  the   following  suggestions  :— 

1.  That    a    hundred    HanHns    be    sent    abroad,    and    ten    of    the 

Imperial  Clan. 

2.  That  foreign  education  be  given  to  all  Sui-ts'ais, 

3.  That  lectures  on  world  topics  be  given  regularly  in  Peking. 

4.  That    while    the  anti-foreign    party   by    their   blundering   were 

presenting  Japan  with  two  hundred  million  taels,  I  had 
calculated  a  scheme  by  which  the  Prime  Minister  could  get 
four  hundred  million  taels  annually. 

During  this  ^art  of  the  conversation  Li  said  he  wished  I 
could  settle  in  Peking  to  deliver  lectures  to  the  Hanlins. 
He  also  remarked  that  Weng  T'ung-ho  was  very  sus- 
picious, that  he  had  no  head  and  only  a  half-doubting 
heart. 

On  September  26th,  I  was  invited  by  Mr.  Pethick 
to  dinner  at  Ta-li  Hotel,  where  I  met  ten  Hanlins.  So 
next  day  1  called  with  the  draft  letter,  which  Li  corrected. 
Lie  also  advised  me  in  my  interview  with  the  Prime 
Minister  to  say  first  a  word  of  praise,  then  "  to  run  a 
thousand  needles  into  him,"  and  to  finish  by  emphasizing 
the  great  responsibility  that  rested  on  him  for  good  or 
ill.  Lie  spent  about  half  an  hour  showing  me  the  need 
of  the  freest  and  most  forcible  illustrations  to  drive  home 
to  Weng  T'ung-ho  the  urgency  of  the  situation.  In  con- 
trasting Prince  Kung  and  Weng  T'ung-ho,  he  remarked 
that  they  were  as   dififerent  as  stone  and  india-rubber. 

5.   Interview  with  Prime  Minister. 

On  October  26th,  Weng  T'ung-ho  appointed  the 
Tsungli  Yamen  as  the  place  for  our  interview.  After 
the  first  few  words  he  suggested  that  our  interview  should 
be  in  a  private  place,  and  he  took  me  into  one  of  t,he 
rooms  of  the  Tung  Wen  College  in  the  same  compound, 
where  Wang  Ming-luan,  his  right-hand  man  and  a 
member  of  the  Tsungli  Yamen,  was  the  only  one  in 
attendance. 

As  I  'wished  to  convince  him  who  the  chief  disturbers 
of  peace  between  the  Christians  and  the  Government 
were,  I   took  with  me  as  proof  two  bundles  of  books,  one 


PRESENTATION   OF  MISSION   MEMORIAL    247 

containing  about  ten  Chinese  volumes  of  "  Hal  Kwo  Tu 
Tze,"  and  the  other  about  ten  volumes  of  another  work, 
both  containing  the  most  preposterous  calumnies  against 
Christians.  The  first  book,  by  Wei,  stated  that  Christians 
scooped  out  the  eyes  of  the  Chinese  and  mixed  them 
with  lead  to  produce  silver,  and  in  this  way  the  foreign 
missionaries  got  rich.  The  other  book  stated  that  mis- 
sionaries made  bewitching  medicine  which  demented 
women  and  produced  photographs  that  stole  away  the 
souls  of  those  photographed.  I  pointed  out  to  the  Prime 
Ministers  that  these  calumnies  were  invented  to  create 
anti -Christian  riots.  He  asked  me  who  were  the 
miscreants  responsible,  and  I  replied  that  they  were 
Chinese  officials.  He  remarked  that  could  not  possibly 
be  true.  In  reply,  I  took  up  one  of  the  bundles,  opened 
it  at  the  place  where  the  false  charges  were  made, 
and  then  showed  the  Preface  to  the  first  volume  by  Tso 
Tsung-t'ang,  the  great  Viceroy  who  had  won  back  Hi  from 
the  Russians,  and  said,  "  You  must  own  that  this  man 
was  an  eminent  official."  Then  I  took  up  the  .other 
bundle,  folded  the  page  containing  the  false  accusations, 
and  turning  to  the  first  volume,  showed  that  it  was 
inscribed  with  the  name  of  Wang  Wen-shao,  Viceroy 
of  Yunnan  and  Kweichow.  '*  You  will  own  that  this  man 
was  also  a  high  Chinese  official,"  and  I  added  :  "  You 
must  be  well  aware  that  these  books  have  lately  been 
republished,  Hke  the  Blue  Books  of  China  (King  Shih 
Wen),  in  a  cheap  form  for  wide  distribution  throughout 
the  Empire.  When  the  common  people  read  these 
calumnies,  published  in  a  popular  form,  with  the  names 
and  sanction  of  the  highest  officials  in  the  land,  we 
cannot  wonder  that  they  are  incited  to  stir  up  riots  and 
massacre  the  Christians." 

Seeing  ,1  had  proved  my  point  up  to  the  hilt,  the 
Prime  Minister  cried,  laughing,  "  You  have  lived  too  long 
in  China,"  and   gave   up   questioning  my   statements. 

After  this,  I  pointed  out  how  China  had  been 
troubled  with  religious  difficulties  a  thousand  years 
before  ;  first  the  Buddhists  had  persecuted  the  Taoists, 
next   the  Taoists   persecuted  both,   and   the   country   had 


248  FORTY-FIVE   YEARS   IN   CHINA 

no  peace.  But  as  soon  as  religious  liberty  had  been 
granted  to  all  parties,  quiet  reigned  throughout  the  land. 
"  What  the  Christians  ask  from  the  Government  now 
is  only  to  be  left  alone,"  was  my  final  word.  "  If  that 
is  all,"  cried  the  Prime  Minister,  astonished  at  the 
simplicity  of  the  request,  "  I  can  easily  promise  it." 
At  the  close  he  asked  me  to  prepare  a  statement  of 
what  I  considered  were  the  needful  reforms  for  China 
at   that   juncture. 

6.   Interview  with  Prince  Kung. 

Li  Hung-chang  did  not  give  me  a  letter  of  intro- 
duction to  Prince  Kung,  as  he  said  the  Prince  knew  of  me, 
and  had  read  my  book,  and  that  if  I  wrote  a  letter  asking 
for  an  appointment,  he  would  be  sure  to  see  me.  The 
ex -Viceroy  kindly  revised   my  letter  to  the   Prince. 

Prince  Kung  was  the  brother  of  Emperor  Hsien  Feng, 
and  had  been  the  Manchu  Plenipotentiary  who  had 
saved  the  situation  in  1 860-1.  He  was  the  most 
imperious  man  I  ever  met,  every  inch  a  prince,  with 
a  demeanour  as  if  he  felt  himself  a  god  among  men. 
It  is  said  that  he  was  the  only  man  in  the  Empire  of 
whom  the  Empress -Dowager  was  afraid.  They  had 
stormy  times,  and  she  often  found  it  expedient  to  bend 
her   will   to   his. 

On  October  30th,  the  day  appointed  for  the  interview 
at  the  Tsungli  Yamen,  as  Prince  Kung  was  present,  the 
other  seven  members  had  also  to  attend.  The  Prince 
showed  his  contempt  by  giving  me  a  seat  next  the 
door.  He  opened  the  interview  by  referring  to  the 
Christians  as  if  they  were  the  refuse  of  China,  speaking 
in  the  same  disdainful  way  as  they  were  referred  to  in 
the  famous  Tsungli  Yamen  dispatch  after  the  Tientsin 
massacre  in  1870.  He  took  for  granted  that  all  the 
troubles  that  had  overtaken  the  Christians  had  been 
brought  on  them  by  their  own  disloyal  and  foolish  actions. 
When  he  had  given  vent  to  his  feelings  and  expressed 
his  own  views,  I  asked  if  I  might  give  expression  to 
the  Christians'  views.  He  replied  that  he  was  willing 
to  hear  me. 


PRESENTATION   OF  MISSION   MEMORIAL    249 

I  then  stated  that  the  charges  he  had  quoted  against 
the  Christians  were  not  true,  and  that  the  Government's 
action,  based  on  these  charges,  was  not  just.  Having 
hved  many  years  in  different  provinces  in  China  and 
seen  the  great  amount  of  good  done  by  Christians,  I 
knew  the  real  facts,  while  he,  living  in  Peking,  had 
to  trust  to  hearsay,  and  had  been  misinformed.  I  was 
persuaded  that  if  the  Prince  knew  the  whole  truth  about 
Christians,  his  sense  of  justice  would  soon  put  an  end 
to  their  sufferings.  I  had  come  that  day,  not  in  my 
private  capacity,  nor  as  an  ambassador  representing  one 
country,  but  as  representing  the  Christians  of  all  the 
Protestant  countries  of  the  world,  to  ask  him  to  appoint 
a  Commission  of  Inquiry  into  all  the  alleged  charges 
against  the  Christians.  If  we  were  guilty  of  crimes, 
we  did  not  wish  to  avoid  just  punishment,  but  if  we 
were  innocent,  I  felt  convinced  the  Prince  would  see 
that  justice  was  done  to  us  and  the  same  liberty 
granted  to   Christianity  as   to  other   religions   in   China. 

As  soon  as  he  had  gone,  Li  Hung-tsao,  one  of  the 
Emperor's  tutors  and  member  of  the  Tsungli  Yamen, 
came  across  the  room  and  thanked  me  for  speaking 
so  frankly  to  the  Prince.  "  None  of  us  would  have 
dared  to  contradict  the  Prince  as  you  did,  but  as  you 
had  a  request  to  make,  and  put  it  in  so  respectful 
a  manner  before  him,  he  could  not  possibly  be  offended. 
Your  visit  here  will  do  good."  He  also  thanked  me 
for  my  translation  of  Mackenzie's  "  Nineteenth  Century," 
which    I    had    previously    presented    to    liim. 

Before  leaving  Prince  Kung,  it  may  interest  my 
readers  if  I  relate  a  further  incident.  A  few  years 
later  the  Judge  of  the  British  Supreme  Court  in  Shanghai 
told  me  that  the  Russian  Minister  in  Peking,  in  an 
interview  with  Prince  Kung,  had  asked  if  he  had  read 
my  translation  of  Mackenzie's  "  Nineteenth  Century." 
The    Prince   replied  that   he  had. 

"And   what   do   you   think   of   it?" 

"  It   is   a  very   useful   book   to    China." 

"  Then  I  am  afraid  you  have  not  grasped  the  moral 
of     it,"     replied    the    Russian     Minister.       "  It     teaches 


250  FORTY-FIVE   YEARS   IN   CHINA 

democracy  versus  autocracy.  If  those  views  become 
current  throughout  China,  you  six  million  Manchus  will 
be  outvoted  by  the  four  hundred  millions  of  Chinese^ 
and  you  will  have  to  go." 

This  prophecy  of  Count  Cassini  was  realized  in   1 9 1  i . 

7.  Dr.  Wherry  and  I  Present  Mission  Memorial. 
November   14TH. 

Besides  having  introductions  from  Li  Hung-chang  to 
the  Tsungli  Yamen,  Dr.  Wherry  and  I  had  approached 
the  British,  American,  and  German  Ministers,  explaining 
our  purpose  of  presenting  the  Missionary  Memorial.  The 
German  Minister  did  not  see  his  way  to  co-operate, 
but  the  British  and  American  Ministers  (Sir  Nicholas 
O'Connor  and  Colonel  Denby)  sent  dispatches  to  the 
Tsungli  Yamen,  making  known  our  business,  and  on  the 
day  appointed  for  the  first  interview,  November  14th, 
Colonel  Denby  kindly  accompanied  us  and  introduced  us. 

After  hearing  us,  the  majority  of  the  members  were 
in  favour  of  granting  the  requests. 

The  main  substance  of  the  Memorial  was  as  follows  :— 

Although  the  Chinese  Government  had  allowed 
freedom  to  the  Confucian,  Buddhist,  Taoist,  and 
Mohammedan  religions  for  a  thousand  years,  it  had,  since 
the  days  of  Emperor  Yung  Ching  (1723-36),  continually 
persecuted  the  Christians,  even  after  treaties,  from  1842 
onwards,  had  been  made  in  which  protection  of  Christians 
was  promised.  The  Government  had  republished  ofHcial 
reports  in  which  the  Christians  were  accused  of  all 
manner  of  horrible  practices.  The  officials  and  scholars, 
finding  that  these  books  were  published  with  the  consent 
of  the  highest  Viceroys  in  the  land,  naturally  believed 
them  to  be  true,  and  encouraged  the  common  people  in 
persecutions  and  riots,  which  resulted  in  the  burning 
of  chapels,  killing  of  native  Christians,  and  even  of 
foreign  missionaries.  The  Chinese  did  not  know  that 
wicked  persons  were  not  permitted  to  enter  the  Church. 
Christianity  benefited  all  nations.  Not  only  was  Western 
civilization  indebted  to  the  Christian  Church,  but  the 
inhabitants  of  all  continents  and  islands  of  the  sea  had 


PRESENTATION   OP  MISSION   MEMORIAL    251 

been  uplifted  by  it.  The  adoption  of  Western  civiliza- 
tion in  Japan  was  largely  due  to  missionary  influence. 
Even  in  China  missionaries  had  worked  for  the  good 
of  the  people.  They  had  translated  the  sacred  books 
of  the  West,  together  with  histories  and  books  of  science, 
into  Chinese,  and  had  translated  the  sacred  books  and 
histories  of  China  into  Western  languages.  They  had 
assisted  in  famine  relief  in  Shantung,  Shansi,  Kiangsu,  and 
Manchuria.  Though  many  had  died  from  famine  fever, 
others  had  come  to  carry  on  the  good  work.  They  had 
given  advice  how  China  could  be  saved  from  poverty, 
weakness,  famine,  and  war,  and  become  one  of  the  great 
nations  of  the  earth.  What  missionaries  desired  was  that 
the  Chinese  Government  should  learn  from  God  and 
should  show  benevolence  to  all.  If  the  Government 
did  not  protect  good  men  who  had  come  to  help 
China,  then  it  was  to  be  feared  that  their  own  nationals 
would  enter  to  protect  them.  Unless  Christians  were  let 
alone  to  carry  on  their  good  works,  international  troubles 
would  arise.  We  therefore  pray  that  an  edict  be  issued 
granting  these  three  requests. 

8.  Obstructions  to  Granting  our  Request. 

A  few  days  after,  the  Throne  instructed  the  Foreign 
Office  to  confer  with  the  missionaries  till  the  matter 
was  settled,  and  at  the  beginning  of  December  two  of 
the  Tsungli  Yamen  members  assured  us  that  an  edict 
would  shortly  be  issued,  granting  the  requests  in  the 
Memorial.  But  two  things  occurred  which  changed  the 
course  of  events.  Wang  Ming-luan,  who  had  been  one 
of  our  strongest  supporters  in  the  Tsungli  Yamen, 
was  suddenly  degraded,  thus  weakening  the  pro- 
Memorial  party.  Li  Hung-chang  also  told  me  that 
the  French  Minister  had  unexpectedly  objected  to  the 
Throne  granting  any  missionary  request,  as  it  brought 
up  again  the  question  of  the  right  of  missionaries  to 
deal  direct  with  the  Chinese  Government,  a  demand 
which  the  French  Government  had  a  few  years  before 
compelled    the    Pope    to    withdraw. 

At    this    point    Dr.    Wherry    left     Peking    to    go    to 


252  FORTY-FIVE   YEARS   IN   CHINA 

America  on  furlough,  ^nd  his  place  was  taken  by  Dr. 
Lowry,  He  therefore  called  with  me  at  the  British 
and  American  Legations  to  report  on  our  interviews 
with  the  Tsungli  Yamen,  and  !what  we  had  heard  of 
the  French  Minister.  We  expressed  the  hope  that  the 
Ministers  would  together  obtain  the  consent  of  the 
Chinese  Government  to  the  Memorial,  and  we  further 
asked  them  to  ■  add  another  request,  that  whatever 
privileges  were  granted  to  the  Roman  Catholics  should 
be  at  the  same  time  extended  to  the  Protestants. 

Although  we  were  not  able  to  get  the  requests  granted 
and  ratified  by  an  edict,  yet  in  our  nine  interviews 
with  the  Tsungli  Yamen  we  were  able  to  enlighten  the 
members,  whose  ideas  had  been  vague  in  the  extreme, 
as    to    the    object   and    value    of   foreign    Missions. 

Further,  the  day  before  I  left  Peking,  February  24, 
1896,  Weng  T'ung-ho  called  on  me  and  gave  verbal 
promises  that  the  slanderous  literature  should  be 
suppressed,  and  the  local  authorities  everywhere  be 
instructed  to   be   friendly  towards  the   missionaries. 


CHAPTER     XII 
REFORM    MOVEMENT   IN   CHINA.    1895-8 

I.  K'ang  Yu-wei. 

At  this  time  a  number  of  Hanlins,  stung  by  China's 
humiliation  in  the  war  with  Japan,  and  realizing  that 
nothing  except  reform  could  save  China,  banded  them- 
selves together  to  discuss  what  measures  could  be 
adopted  to  put  China  on  her  feet.  They  had  been 
greatly  influenced  by  a  certain  brilliant  Cantonese  scholar, 
K'ang  Yu-wei,  a  Chin-Shih,  or  Doctor  of  Literature. 
Not  satisfied  with  the  materialistic  commentaries  on 
the  ancient  classics  iof  China  by  Chu  Hi,  which  had 
been  the  standard  for  the  last  thousand  years,  he  had 
conceived  the  idea  of  writing  a  new  commentary  on 
the  classics,  based  on  the  spiritual  nature  of  God.  This 
had  created  considerable  stir  amongst  the  scholars  of 
China,  many  of  whom  regarded  the  author  as  the  modern 
sage  of  China.  But  the  conservative  censors  in  Peking 
persuaded  the  Government  to  issue  an  edict  condemning 
the  new  interpretation  as  heretical,  and  ordering  the 
destruction  of  the  blocks  of  his  books.  He  then  drew 
up  a  Memorial  signed  by  ten  thousand  students,  including 
thirteen  hundred  Chu-ren,  praying  that  the  Emperor 
should  immediately  take  steps  for  Reform.  The  lines 
they  advocated  were  similar  to  those  laid  down  by  the 
pubHcations  of  the  S.D.K.  Influenced  by  K'ang  Yu-wei 's 
writings,  a  number  of  intelligent  young  men,  shortly 
after  peace  had  been  signed  with  Japan,  formed  them- 
selves into  a  Junior  Reform  Society  in  Shanghai,  with 
branches  in  Hangchow,  Nanking,  Wuchang,  and  Tientsin. 

253 


254  FORTY-FIVE   YEARS   IN  CHINA 

They  brought  their  rules  for  me  to  revise,  and  discussed 
with  me  how  they  could  help  to  enlighten  their  country. 
One  of  their  numher  visited  Li  Hung-chang,  and 
suggested  that  the  Chinese  Government  should  make 
our  Wang  Kwvh  Kung  Pao  {Review  of  the  Times)  the 
organ  of  the  Government,  and  publish  ten  thousand  copies 
regularly. 

On  October  17,  1895,  occurred  my  first  meeting 
with  K'ang  Yu-Wei.  I  was  at  the  L.M.S.  compound 
in  Peking,  and  was  writing  to  my  wife  in  Paris,  when 
his  card  was  brought  me.  In  the  guest-room  I  found 
the  famous  scholar,  clad  in  yellow  silks.  He  had  brought 
a  copy  of  his  work  to  present  to  me,  before  leaving 
for  the  south  next  day.  He  told  me  he  believed  in  the 
Fatherhood  of  God  and  in  the  brotherhood  of  nations 
as  we  had  taught  in  our  publications,  and  he  hoped 
to  co-operate  with  us  in  the  work  of  regenerating  China. 

2.  The  Reform  Society. 

The  Reform  Society,  started  by  him  and  his  friends, 
was  called  the  Kiang  Hsueh  Hui  (Higher  Learning 
Society),  and  had  members  not  only  amongst  the  most 
intelligent  Hanlins  in  Peking,  but  among  the  Censors 
and  the  under-Secretaries  of  the  Grand  Council.  The 
Peking  Gazette,  the  organ  of  the  Government,  had  been 
for  a  thousand  years  the  sole  publication  in  the  capital  ; 
but  now,  for  the  first  time  in  China's  history,  there 
appeared  a  new  paper,  independent  of  the  Government, 
though  having  its  secret  support.  This  was  issued  by 
the  Reform  Society.  It  is  interesting  to  note  the 
timidity  of  the  Reform  Party  at  this  period.  Knowing 
that  the  monthly  magazine  of  the  Diffusion  Society  had 
been  in  circulation  for  many  years  amongst  the  leading 
officials  without  any  opposition,  they  called  their  first 
paper  by  the  same  name  as  ours,  Wang  /(woh  Knng  Pao, 
and  it  first  consisted  mainly  of  reprints  from  our 
magazine.  The  only  difference  was  that  our  paper  was 
printed  in  metallic  type  in  Shanghai,  whilst  theirs  was 
printed  from  the  wooden  type  used  in  publication  of 
the     Government    Peking    Gazette.       Thus    in     outward 


5  V     '  .  OL<s  cJcLo) 


ala 


c^ jfo./:<l^^yryicCej  cf-  ■tfiej  afu£ej  .iveuiej  ayndj 
S%5    J  u.Uh.'ct'i^ye/^l^. 


To  face  p.  254 


REFORM   MOVEMENT  IN   CHINA  255 

appearance  it  resembled  the  Government  official  organ, 
whilst  in  contents  it  was  introducing  Western  ideas 
propagated  by  the  S.D.K. 

Amongst  the  members  of  the  Reform  Club  was  a 
young  man  of  about  twenty -eight  years  of  age,  K'ang 
Yu-wei's  most  brilliant  disciple,  named  Liang  Ch'i-ch'ao. 
Hearing  that  I  wanted  a  Chinese  Secretary,  he  offered 
his  services,  and  assisted  me  all  the  time  I  was  in 
Peking.  Other  members  were  Wen  T'ing-shih,  from 
Kiangsi  province,  a  Hanlin  and  tutor  to  the  ladies  of 
the  Imperial  Court  ;  T'an  Tze-t'ung,  of  Hunan,  son  of 
the  Governor  of  Hupeh,  afterwards  beheaded  at  the 
Coup  (TEtat  in  1898  ;  Ch'in  Chih,  of  Kiangsi,  who  wrote 
out  my  scheme  of  reform  for  Weng  T'ung-ho  ;  Yuan 
Shih-kai,  then  a  General  of  the  Chihli  army,  and  many 
others.  The  Reform  Party  had  the  full  sympathy  of 
Weng  Tung-ho,  who  was  then  Prime  Minister  of  China, 
and  Sun  Chia-nai,  the  Emperor's  tutor.  It  also  had 
great  encouragement  from  Sir  Nicholas  O'Connor,  the 
British   Minister. 

About  this  time.  Dr.  Gilbert  Reid,  of  the  American 
Presbyterian  Mission,  an  old  friend  of  mine  from 
Shantung,  had  begun  work  among  the  higher  classes 
in  Peking,  hoping  to  make  them  friendly  towards 
Christianity.  He,  Mr.  Pethick,  and  I  were  frequently 
invited  to  dinner  by  the  members  of  the  Reform  Club, 
and  we  in  turn  invited  them  back.  At  each  dinner 
speeches  were  delivered  bearing  on  reform  in  China, 
and  discussions  followed  in  which  the  members  took 
the  keenest  interest.  They  invited  me  to  remain  in 
Peking  a  few  months  so  as  to  give  them  advice  as  to 
how  they  should  proceed. 

On  January  22nd  the  Reform  Society  was  denounced 
by  a  new-comer,  father-in-law  of  Lord  Li's  son,  and 
the  Club  was  closed  and  its  doors  pasted  up.  Viceroy 
Li  denied  any  connection  with  the  closing  of  the 
Reform  Club.  The  members  memorialized  the  Throne, 
and  during  the  next  month  I  heard  that  the  Tsungli 
Yamen  were  about  to  give  it  a  grant  of  twelve  thousand 
taels  a   year. 


256  FORTY-FIVE   YEARS   IN   CHINA 


3.  My  Reform  Scheme  for  Weng  T'ung-ho. 

Out  of  the  interviews  regarding  the  Mission  Memorial, 
there  came  a  request  from  Weng  T'ung-ho,  the  Chinese 
Prime  Minister,  asking  me  to  write  a  brief  statement  of 
what  was  most  needed  in  China  in  the  way  of  reform.  I 
therefore  prepared  a  scheme  of  which  the  following  is 
the  gist  : — 

After  prefacing  that  God  showed  no  partiality  towards 
any  nation,  East  or  West,  that  the  nation  that  obeyed 
Heaven  prospered  and  the  nation  that  disobeyed  perished, 
according  to  unalterable  Jaw,  I  pointed  out  four  vital 
requirements  for  China  :  educational  reform,  economic 
reform,  internal  and  international  peace,  and  spiritual 
regeneration.  To  carry  out  these  great  measures  I 
proposed  : — 

1.  Two  foreign  advisers  to  the  Throne. 

2.  A  Cabinet  of  eight  Ministers,  one  half  of  Manchus  and  Chinese, 

and  the  other  half  of  foreign  officials  who  would  know  about 
the  progress  of  all  the  world. 

3.  The    immediate   reform  of   currency    and   the  establishment  of 

finance  on  a  sound  basis. 

4.  The  immediate  building  of   railways  and  the  opening  of  mines 

and  factories. 
Nj    5.  The  establishment  of  a  Board  of  Education  to  introduce  modern 
schools  and  colleges  throughout  the  Empire. 

6.  The    establishment    of    an    intelligent    Press    with   experienced 

foreign  journalists  to  assist  Chinese  editors  for  the  enlighten- 
ment of  the  people. 

7.  The  building  up  of  an  adequate  army  and  navy  for  the  country's 

defence. 

This  scheme  of  reform  was  shown  by  Weng  T'ung-ho 
to  the  Emperor  and  approved  by  him.  It  was  published 
later  by  the  S.D.K. 

4.  Sun  Chia-nai,  the  Emperor's  Tutor. 

On  October  i  2th  I  had  an  interview  of  over  an  hour 
with  Sun  Chia-nai,  the  Emperor's  tutor.  Acting  on 
Viceroy  Li's  advice,  I  spoke  to  him  as  if  to  the  Emperor. 


REFORM   MOVEMENT   IN   CHINA  257 

He  was  a  native  of  the  same  province  as  Li  Hung- 
chang,  Anhui,  and  he  was  over  sixty  years  of  age.  I 
found  him  one  of  the  most  cultured  and  the  gentlest 
of  all  Chinese  officials.  He  told  me  in  that  first  inter- 
view    that     he    had    been    reading     my    translation    of 

^Mackenzie's  "  Nineteenth  Century  "  every  day  for  two 
months  with  the  Emperor.  Before  I  left  Peking,  Sun 
Chia-nai  offered  me  the  position  of  President  of  the 
Peking  University,  as  it  was  thought  Dr.  Martin,  the 
former  President,  had  left  China  for  good.     Not  seeing 

"my  way  to  accept  the  position,  I  declined.  But  he  sent 
a  second  invitation  after  me  to  Shanghai,  and  again 
I  refused,  recommending  Dr.  Fryer,  who  had  been  for 
years  translator  at  the  Government  Arsenal  at  Shanghai, 
for  the  post.  A  third  invitation  was  sent  me  on  my 
way  home  to  England.  On  my  leaving  Peking,  Sun 
Chia-nai  presented  me  with  a  pair  of  fine  dark-blue 
and  gold  vases. 

5.   Interview  with  Chang  Yin-hwan. 

On  December  3rd  I  called  by  appointment  on  Chang 
Yin-hwan  at  his  own  house.  He  told  me  that  the 
documents  on  rebellion  found  in  the  chapel  at  the  Suang 
Men -to  at  Canton  in  possession  of  a  man  named  Sun 
would  prove  a  great  blow  to  the  settlement  of  the 
missionary  cause  1  had  in  hand.  To  this  I  replied 
that  it  had  no  more  to  do  wdth  it  than  the  rebellions 
of  Confucianists  down  the  ages,  and  of  the  Kwo  Lao 
Hui  at  that  time  had  to  do  with  Confucianism.  At 
this  he  laughed.  He  told  me  that  the  causes  of  weakness 
of  authority  in  Peking  were  the  illness  of  Prince  Kung 
and  the  ignorance  of  Weng  T'ung  Ho  about  foreign 
matters.  The  censors  were  so  powerful  that  Weng  was 
afraid  of  them.  They  were  useful  tools  in  the  Govern- 
ment's hands,  to  destroy  any  undesirable  official. 
According  to  Chang,  only  he  and  Li  Hung-chang  under- 
stood foreign  matters  (Chang  Yin-hwan  had  been 
Minister  to  the  United  States).  All  the  work  in  the 
Foreign  Office  was  done  by  himself,  the  others  being" 
niere   dummies, 

X7 


258  FORTY-FIVE   YEARS   IN   CHINA 

6.  Kang  Yi,  Grand  Councillor. 

Towards  the  end  of  my  stay,  on  February  2nd,  I 
saw  Kang  Yi  by  appointment  at  his  own  house.  He 
was  a  Manchu  and  was  sixty-two  years  of  age.  I  had  first  '. 
met  him  in  the  'eighties,  when  he  was  Governor  of 
Shansi.  While  there  he  was  an  official  of  the  most 
reactionary  type.  Any  improvement  that  was  suggested 
involving  expenditure  of  money  was  promptly  vetoed 
by  his  saying  that  it  was  a  waste  of  money,  causing 
injury  to  the  people.  He  made  friends  with  some  man 
in  Shansi  with  antiquated  notions  of  astronomy  mixed 
up  with  astrology.  He  spent  many  a  summer  night 
watching  the  stars  and  listening  to  the  discarded  wisdom 
of  the  world  on  the  effect  of  the  heavenly  bodies  on 
human  destinies.  When  a  petition  was  made  for  a 
grant  of  money  to  provide  bullets  for  the  practice  of 
the  soldiers,  he  replied  that  lead  bullets  were  far  too 
expensive,  and  ordered  the  soldiers  to  practise  with  clay. 

He  was  extremely  friendly  at  this  interview  and  as 
pleasant  in  manner  as  the  Prime  Minister.  He  had  great 
confidence  in  his  policy  as  Governor  in  Shansi,  and 
Kiangsu,  and  Kwangtung,  though  I  never  heard  of  his 
introducing  a  single  reform.  But  he  endeavoured  to 
be  clean-handed.  He  was  most  anxious  to  make  it  clear 
to  me  that  the  Chinese  officials  were  the  obstructionists, 
and  not  the  Manchus.  The  Chinese  were  incorrigibly 
anti-foreign.  I  tried  to  impress  on  him  the  danger 
of  China's  not  studying  the  methods  of  other  nations. 
I  emphasized  the  need  of  light,  and  I  suggested  to  him 
that  two  foreign  governesses  should  be  engaged  for 
the  Empress -Dowager  and  two  foreign  tutors  for  the 
Emperor. 

The  next  day  I  sent  my  secretary  to  him,  asking  if 
he  could  not  arrange  an  interview  with  the  Emperor 
to  make  these  suggestions.  After  an  hour's  talk  on  the 
matter,  his  final  word  was  that  he  had  no  influence  with 
the  Emperor,  that  Weng  T'ung-ho  alone  was  all-powerful 
with  him,  and  that  in  the  Cabinet  the  Chinese  carried 
everything  their  own  way,  even  Prince  Kung  and  Prince 


REFORM   MOVEMENT   IN   CHINA  259 

Li  being  ciphers.    He  declared  that  Weng  T'ung-ho  kept 
the  Emperor   in  the  dark,   had    "  blinded   his   eyes." 

Kang  Yi's  friendly  attitude,  in  spite  of  his  anti-foreign 
feelings,  was  in  marked  contrast  to  the  behaviour  of 
other  Manchus,  Prince  Kung  being  as  proud  as  Lucifer 
and  King  Shin  as  uncivil  as  it  was  possible  for  him 
to  be.  The  jealousy  between  Chinese  and  Manchu  officials 
was  very  apparent  in  the  interview.  Kang  Yi  afterwards 
became  one  of  the  greatest  obstructionists  in  the  Reform 
Party  and  supported  the  Empress -Dowager  in  her  reac- 
tionary measures.  Later,  she  countenanced  his  formation 
of  a  provincial  militia,  which  led  to  the  great  anti-foreign 
outbreak   of    1900. 

7.  Farewell  to  Weng  T'ung-ho  and  Li 
hung-chang. 

On  February  24th,  the  day  before  I  left  Peking,  the 
card  of  Weng  T'ung-ho  was  brought  in  to  me  where 
1  was  staying  at  the  London  Mission.  According  to 
Chinese  custom,  as  this  was  a  formal  complimentary  act, 
1  returned  him  my  card,  thanking  him  for  the  civility. 
But  word  came  that  he  was  outside,  wishing  to  see 
me  on  important  business.  This  was  an  unprecedented 
act,  for  no  Prime  Minister  of  China  had  ever  called  at 
a  missionary's  house  before.  We  talked  for  an  hour  on 
religious  toleration  and  political  reform.  His  first  object 
was  to  apologize  for  the  non-appearance  of  the  edict 
sanctioning  the  requests  of  the  Missionary  Memorial, 
saying  that  his  superiors  would  not  support  him.  (See 
previous  chapter.)  1  begged  that  no  distinction  should 
be  made  between  Christians  and  non-Christians  and  all 
would  be  well.  His  second  object  was  to  ask  if  I  would 
aid  in  the  Reform  Club  which  the  Government  talked  of 
resuscitating.  1  refused  to  have  any  connection  with  it 
if  it  would  be  of  no  practical  service  to  China. 

Shortly  after  his  departure  he  sent  me  four  rolls  of 
silk,  and  eight  boxes  of  biscuits  for  my  journey.  These, 
together  with  Sun  Chia-nai's  vases,  I  valued  highly  as 
indicative  of  their  friendship. 

That   evening   I  had  a  last   interview   with  Li   Hung- 


260  FORTY-FIVE   YEARS   IN   CHINA 

chang,  who  had  been  appointed  to  attend  the  Czar's 
Coronation.  Notwithstanding  that  he  had  shown  his 
appreciation  of  the  value  of  some  of  the  S.D.K.  pubUca- 
tions,  he  would  not  contribute  a,ny  donation  to  our  Society. 
After  my  twenty  years'  work  within  his  Viceroyaltyship 
of  relief  distribution,  press  work,  and  Reform  work,  he 
would  not  own  that  Christian  Missions  were  doing  any 
good  to  China.  In  alluding  to  his  ingratitude,  Pethick 
quoted,    "Shall  men  gather   grapes    of  thorns?" 

8.  Progress  of  Reform. 

During  my  absence  in  England  the  desire  for  Reform 
spread  rapidly  in  China.  Dr.  Allen,  whose  "  History  of 
the  War  "  had  had  a  very  wide  circulation,  was  invited 
to  take  charge  of  a  University  intended  to  be  established 
in  Shanghai,  but  declined.  He  consented,  however,  to 
draw  up  a  code  of  rules  for  a  National  System  of 
Modern  Education,  and  prepared  an  elaborate  manu- 
script, based  mainly  on  the  system  established  by  the 
British  Government  in  India. 

The  Reform  Movement  was  like  the  thawing'  of  a  great 
glacier  or  the  breaking  up  of  the  frozen  Amur,  sweeping 
gigantic  masses  of  obstructive  ice  down  to  the  ocean, 

Liang  Ch'i-ch'ao,  K'ang  Yu-wei's  chief  disciple,  now 
started  a  newspaper  in  Shanghai,  called  The  Chinese 
Progress,  as  the  organ  of  the  Reform  Party.  From  the 
first  it  was  a  brilliant  success,  and  stirred  the  whole 
Empire  from  one  end  to  the  other.  It  was  strongly 
supported  by  the  Viceroy  Chang  Chih-tung,  of  Wuchang, 
and  other  ofificials.  The  style  of  writing  was  a  medium 
between  high  Wenli  (high  classic  style),  which  could 
only  be  understood  by  comparatively  few  of  the  scholars, 
and  the  colloquial,  which  every  coolie  could  understand  ; 
so  chaste  that  it  commanded  the  admiration  of  every 
scholar,  and  yet  so  plain  that  every  reader  in  the  land 
could  comprehend.  Even  Hunan,  the  province  which  had 
disgraced  the  Empire  with  its  scurrilous  calumnies  against 
Christianity,  invited  Liang  Ch'i-ch'ao  in  1897  to  become 
President  of  a  Reform  College  in  Changsha,  the  provin- 
cial capital.     Many  of  the  Hunanese  became  ardent  advo- 


REFORM   MOVEMENT   IN  CHINA  261 

cates  of  Reform.  They  also  invited  my  secretary,  Ts'ai 
Er-k'ang,  who  assisted  me  in  literary  work  in  Shanghai, 
to  deliver  lectures  to  them,  but  he  declined,  saying  that 
all  the  new  ideas  were  those  of  foreigners,  not  his. 

The  hopeful  signs  in  the  Reform  Movement  were  that 
it  recognized  that  the  old  hatred  of  foreigners  was  unjusti- 
fiable, and  that  their  friendship  should  be  cultivated  /that 
the   ancient   education   of   China   was   all  too   inadequate! 
to  meet  modern  requirements,  and  that  Western  learning  t 
should  be  adopted.      Some  Reformers   even  went  so  farj 
as  to  say  that  Confucianism  was  toO'  material,  and  they 
boldly    advocated    the    adoption    of    Christianity    as    the 
national   religion.      Another  sign    of   the   times   was   the 
sudden  increase  of  newspapers,  from  nineteen  to  seventy, 
within   three    years. 

9.  Chinese  Girls'  School. 

At  the  end  of  1897  I  returned  to  China,  and  found 
the  Reform  Movement  in  full  swing.  A  Chinese 
Girls'  School  was  started  in  Shanghai  by  the  head  of  the 
Chinese  Telegraph  Administration  and  other  Reformers. 
It  was  situated  a  little  beyond  St.  Catherine's  Bridge,  on 
the  way  to  the  Arsenal.  Mrs.  Richard  was  asked  to 
recommend  a  foreign  lady  to  teach  English,  in  addition 
to  a  Chinese  young  lady  who  had  been  educated  in  the 
American  Episcopal  Mission.  For  this  post  she  suggested 
the  daughter  of  Dr.  Y.  J.  Allen.  She  was  also  asked 
to  visit  the  school  at  least  once  a  month  to  see  that 
everything  was  being  carried  on  in  proper  order. 

In  February  of  1898  the  Reform  Society  published  a 
"  New  Collection  of  Tracts  for  the  Times  "  in  Shanghai. 
Forty-four  of  the  essays  were  written  by  Liang  Ch'i 
Ch'ao,  thirty-eight  contributed  by  K'ang  Yu-wei,  while 
the  editor  included  thirty-one  of  my  own.  Ch'in  Chih, 
who  had  helped  in  writing  out  my  Scheme  of  Reform, 
also  contributed   some   essays. 

10.  The  Emperor's  Wonderful  Edicts. 

At  this  time  K'ang  Yu-wei  had  been  appointed 
Secretary  of  the  Tsungli  Yamen,  and  was  having  great 


262  FORTY-FIVE   YEARS   IN   CHINA 

influence  over  the  Emperor.  Chang  Yin-hwan,  who  had 
been  special  Envoy  to  Queen  Victoria's  Diamond  Jubilee 
the  previous  year,  was  member  of  both  the  Grand  Council 
and  the  Tsungli  Yamen,  and  had  joined  the  Reform 
Party.  The  Under-Secretaries  of  the  Grand  Council  were 
enthusiastic  for  Reform.  The  young  Emperor  soon 
showed  his  faith  in  the  Reformers  by  carrying  out  their 
advice,  and  the  result  was  a  series  of  remarkable  edicts 
which  followed  in  quick  succession :  — 

1.  To  abolish  the  essay  S3'stem  of  examination  which  had  been  in 

vogue  for  the  last  five  hundred  years. 

2.  To  establish  a  University  for  the  study   of  Western  science  in 

Peking. 

3.  To  convert  temples  into  schools  for  Western  education. 

4.  To  establish   a   Translation  Board    whereby  books  on  Western 

learning  are  to  be  translated  into  Chinese. 

5.  To  establish  a  Patent  Office  for  the  encouragement  of  everything 

that  is  new  and  useful. 

6.  To  protect  Christianity  without  any  further  evasions. 

7.  To     make    the    Reform     paper — Chinese    Progress — the     official 

organ  of  the  Government. 

8.  To  abolish  useless  offices  both  in  Peking  and  the  provinces. 

9.  To    make  young   Manchus  study  foreign  languages   and   travel 

abroad. 

II.  First  Check  to  Reform  Party. 

Meanwhile,  the  Empress-Dowager  and  the  Conservative 
Party  had  not  been  idle.  They  had  watched  with  growing 
alarm  the  rapid  spread  of  Reform  ideas  throughout  the 
Empire,  and,  to  prevent  any  surprise  from  the  Reform 
Party,  a  very  clever  move  had  been  made.  Prince  Kung, 
who  had  been  the  President  of  the  military  and  naval 
forces,  had  died  in  June.  By  natural  procedure,  Weng 
T'ung-ho,  who  had  been  Vice-President^  should  have 
been  appointed  to  succeed  him  in  the  position.  But  the 
Empress-Dowager  gave  the  appointment  to  her  kinsman 
and  loyal  supporter,  Jung  Lu,  while  Weng  T'ung-ho 
was  cashiered.  This  action,  though  it  took  place  three 
months  before  the  formal  Coup  d'Etat,  constituted  the 
first  blow  aimed  at  the  Emperor's  brief  independence  of 
her.      After    Weng  T'ung-ho's    dismissal,    the    Empress- 


REFORM   MOVEMENT  IN   CHINA  263 

Dowager  gave  audiences  to  the  high  Ministers  and  com- 
manded them  to  memorialize  her  direct. 

During  the  issuing  of  the  Reform  Edicts  the  Con- 
servatives complained  that  the  Emperor's  wild  schemes 
would  soon  bring  China  to  ruin,  and  they  implored  the 
Empress-Dowager  to  take  all  power  into  her  own  hands. 
She  issued  an  edict  that  she  would  review  the  troops  in 
Tientsin  that  autumn.  The  Emperor  feared  that  under  the 
pretext  of  the  review,  the  Empress -Dowager  would  seize 
all  authority  and  put  him  on  one  side.  The  Reform 
Party  urged  him  to  forestall  her  and  have  her  confined  in 
the  Summer  Palace,  and  thus  put  an  end  to  all  interference 
on  the  part  of  the  obstructionists  to  Reform.  Accordingly, 
the  Emperor  summoned  Yuan  Shih-kai,  who  was  General 
under  Jung  Lu,  and  on  whose  support  he  counted,  to 
undertake  to  bring  troops  to  Peking  to  guard  the  Palace 
where  she  resided.  On  receiving  Yuan  Shih-kai's  solemn 
pledge  of  loyalty,  the  Emperor  gave  him  a  special 
appointment  to  carry  out  reforms  in  the  army,  so  that 
with  this  added  authority  he  would  be  able  to  accomplish 
the  Emperor's  plans. 

12.  Invited  to  be  Adviser  to  the  Emperor. 

It  was  at  this  juncture  that  I  arrived  in  Peking.  I 
had  been  consulted  by  K'ang  Yu-wei  in  the  summer  on 
measures  of  Reform,  and  had  suggested  that  as  Marquis 
Ito  had  been  so  successful  in  converting  Japan  into  a 
strong  Power,  the  best  course  would  be  for  the  Chinese 
Government  to  invite  him  as  one  of  its  foreign  advisers. 
I  was  later  invited  by  K'ang  Yu-wei  to  go  up  to  Peking 
and  be  one  of  the  Emperor's  advisers.  On  the  same 
steamer  there  travelled  with  me  two  interesting  men. 
One  of  them  was  Yuan  Chang,  the  hero  who  afterwards, 
in  1900,  dared  to  remonstrate  against  the  massacre  of 
foreigners,  and  who  defied  the  Empress-Dowager  by 
changing  the  wording  of  the  Imperial  telegram  from 
"  Exterminate  the  foreigner  "  into  "  Protect  the 
foreigner,"  paying  for  his  boldness  with  his  life.  The 
other  was  a  naturalized  American  citizen,  Yung  Wing,  who 
had  taken  the  first  group  of  a  hundred  students  to  America. 


264  FORTY-FIVE   YEARS  IN  CHINA 

When  I  arrived  in  Peking  in  the  middle  of  September, 
I  called  on  K'ang  Yu-wei,  who  told  me  that  the  situation 
was  far  from  peaceful,  and  that  he  intended  shortly  to 
leave  for  Shanghai.  Further  instructions  would  be  given 
me  by  the  Emperor's  tutor,  Sun  Chia-nai,  T'an  Tze-t'ung, 
or  others  in  close  contact  with  the  Emperor. 

1  was  in  the  same  hotel  as  Marquis  Ito,  and  had  long 
talks  with  his  chief  secretary,  Mr.  Tsuda,  who  afterwards 
became  editor  of  the  Japan  Times  in  Tokio,  and  still 
later  secretary  to  Prince  Ito  when  resident  in  Korea. 
Liang  Ch'i-ch'ao,  who  had  been  recommended  to  a 
Government  post  by  Viceroy  Chang  Chih-tung,  was  also 
in  Peking. 

13.  Flight  of  K'ang  Yu-wei  and  Coup  d':£tat. 

On  hearing  of  Yuan  Shih-kai's  appointment,  the 
Empress-Dowager  became  suspicious  that  the  Emperor, 
with  his  help,  was  intending  to  put  an  end  to  all  her 
power.  She  therefore  sent  to  Jung  Lu,  who  telegraphed 
to  General  T'ung  Fu-hsiang  to  bring  his  army  to  Peking 
to  support  the  Empress -Dowager.  At  the  same  time 
she  demanded  of  the  Emperor  the  arrest  of  K'ang  Yu- 
wei,  who  she  said  had  poisoned  his  mind  against  her. 
This  alarmed  the  Emperor.  That  same  day  K'ang  Yu-wei 
received  a  letter  from  the  Emperor  urging  him  to  leave 
for  an  appointment  in  Shanghai.  He  read  between  the 
lines  and  took  train  for  Tientsin.  The  Empress-Dowager, 
hearing  of  his  flight,  sent  cipher  telegrams  to  Chefoo 
and  Shanghai  for  his  arrest  and  instant  decapitation. 
When  he  put  in  at  Chefoo,  the  telegram  had  already 
arrived,  but  the  Tao-tai  was  away  at  Kiao-chao,  and  had 
taken  his  telegraphic  code  with  him.  His  secretaries 
could  not  decipher  the  telegram,  and  K'ang  Yu-wei  took 
a  peaceful  walk  through  the  Settlement  streets  and  along 
the  beach,  picking  up  sea-shells.  The  Chinese  authorities 
were  on  the  alert  in  Shanghai  to  seize  him,  but  at 
Woosung,  at  the  British  Consul-General's  instigation, 
K'ang  Yu-wei  was  transferred  to  a  P.  and  O.  steamer, 
which   took    him   to    Hongkong. 

Meanwhile,  the  Emperor  continued  his  edicts  of  Reform, 


REFORM  MOVEMENT   IN   CHINA  265 

and  Sun  Chia-nan  called  to  notify  me  that  His  Imperial 
Majesty  wished  me  to  attend  an  audience  on  Septem- 
ber 23rd.  But  before  that  date  events  took  place  which 
precipitated  the  Coup  d^Etat.  Yuan  Shih-kai,  after  a 
final  audience  with  the  Emperor,  acquainted  Jung  Lu 
with   the   plans   against    the    Empress -Dowager. 

Now,  it  was  a  current  report  at  the  time,  referred  to 
in  all  the  foreign  newspapers,  that  in  his  last  audience 
with  the  Emperor,  Yuan  Shih-kai  was  given  instructions 
to  put  Jung  Lu  to  death  before  bringing  the  troops  to 
Peking.  But  in  the  account  given  of  the  audience  by 
Messrs.  Backhouse  and  Bland  in  "  China  Under  the 
Empress-Dowager,"  the  authors  distinctly  state  (p.  205)  : 
"  Every  precaution  was  taken  to  prevent  the  conversation 
being  overheard."  If,  therefore,  the  interview  was  a 
secret  tete-d-tete,  the  account  of  what  transpired  must, 
according  to  the  opinions  of  the  best  informed,  have 
emanated  from  the  triumphant  party  in  the  Government, 
in  order  to  justify  their  subsequent  action.  Although 
the  Reform  Party  were  all,  agreed  that  the  one  way  of 
ending  all  interference  from  the  reactionaries  was  to 
secure  the  Empress-Dowager,  who  was  the  chief  obstruc- 
tionist, none  had  contemplated  the  death  of  Jung  Lu, 
who  had  been  one  of  many  to  recommend  K'ang 
Yu-wei  and  had  personally  recommended  to  the  Emperor 
another  notable  progressive,  Chen  Pao-chen,  Governor  of 
Hupeh.i  Jung  Lu,  on  hearing  Yuan  Shih-kai's  infor- 
mation, straightway  sought  the  Empress-Dowager,  who 
took  immediate  action,  summoning  the  Conservative  Party 
to  her  aid.  Marquis  Ito,  on  hearing  that  Yuan  Shih-kai 
had  gone  over  to  the  Empress -Dowager  and  that  she 
was  in  control  of  the  troops,  exclaimed  :  "  It  is  too  late. 
The  Emperor  can  do  nothing  without  the  army."  He 
left  Peking  at  once. 

Sun  Chia-nai  at  this  juncture  called  on  me  with  the 
news  that  the  Emperor  had  been  seized  by  order  of  the 
Empress-Dowager,  and  conveyed  to  a  small  island  on 
the  Palace  Lake.  He  also  said  that  on  the  very  day 
and  at  the  very  hour  at  which  I  was  to  have  had  an 
'  "  China  Under  the  Empress-Dowager,"  pp.  186  and  205. 


266  FORTY-FIVE   YEARS   IN   CHINA 

audience  with  the  Emperor,  the  Empress-Dowager  had 
arranged  formally  to  resume  the  reins  of  government. 

On  September  21st  an  edict  was  issued  in  the 
Emperor's  name,  stating  that  as  the  burdens  and  responsi- 
bilities of  State  were  too  great  for  him,  the  Emperor  had 
requested  the  Empress-Dowager  to  assist  him,  and  that  on 
the  23rd  the  Emperor  desired  the  princes  and  high 
officials  to  pay  their  respects  and  acknowledge  her  once 
more  as  Regent. 

The  same  day,  Liang  Ch'i-ch'ao  and  Tan  Su-t'ung  saw 
me  in  private  and  told  me  that  an  edict  was  out  for 
their  arrest.  We  discussed  measures  for  the  protection 
of  the  Emperor,  whose  life  was  in  the  greatest  possible 
danger,  and  we  decided  that  Yung  Wing,  being  an 
American  citizen,  should  see  the  American  Minister,  Liang 
Ch'i-ch'ao  should  see  the  Japanese  Minister,  and  I  should 
myself  see  the  British  Minister  in  order  to  induce  them  to 
move  for  the  immediate  protection  of  the  Emperor.  But, 
unfortunately,  the  American  Minister  was  away  at  the 
hills    and    the    British    Minister    at    Pei-tai-ho. 

The  city  gates  were  closed  to  prevent  the  escape  of 
the  Reformers,  but  Liang  Ch'i-ch'ao  managed  to  reach 
Tientsin,  where  he  made  for  a  Japanese  steamer. 
Although  chased  by  a  Chinese  Government  launch,  he 
eluded  capture  and  got  safely  on  board  and  away  to 
Japan. 

I  also  went  to  Tientsin,  in  order  to  meet  the  British 
Minister,  who  was  coming  back  from  Pei-tai-ho.  I 
pleaded  with  him  to  do  his  utmost  to  save  the  Emperor 
and  the  lives  of  the  captured  Reformers.  But  he  was 
already  prejudiced  against  them,  his  attitude  being  quite 
unlike  that  of  his  predecessor,  Sir  Nicholas  O'Connor. 
His  prejudice  rested  largely  on  ignorance,  for  I  subse- 
quently learnt  that  he  told  a  friend  that  before  his  return 
from  Pei-tai-ho  he  had  never  heard  of  K'ang  Yu-wei. 

14.   Execution   of   Reformers. 

Other  Reformers  fled  to  Japan,  Macao,  and  America, 
but  some  did  not  attempt  to  escape.  On  September  28th 
six  of  them  were  summarily  executed  without  trial.  The 
most  notable   of  these   was   T'an   Su-t'ung,   a  promising 


REFORM  MOVEMENT   IN   CHINA  267 

official  of  about  thirty-three  years  of  age.  A  native 
of  Hunan,  and  son  of  a  former  Governor  of  Hupeh,  he 
had  been  recommended  by  several  ofificials  and  given  a 
position  as  one  of  the  under-secretaries  of  the  Grand 
Council.  He  was  instrumental  with  K'ang  Yu-wei  in 
the  drawing  up  of  the  Emperor's  famous  edicts.  Others 
were  Liu  Kwang-ti  and  Yang  Tzwei,  both  natives  of 
Szechuen  and  about  forty  years  of  age.  Yang  Shih-shen 
was  a  censor  and  a  Hanlin.  K'ang  Kwang-in,  about 
thirty-five  years  of  age,  was  K'ang  Yu-wei's  brother.  The 
youngest  of  them  was  Lin  Shio,  only  twenty-six  years 
of  age,  and  a  descendant  of  the  famous  Commissioner 
Lin  who  destroyed  the  foreign  opium  in  Canton  at  the 
beginning  of  the  Opium  War.  Four  of  the  six  had  been 
under-secretaries  of  the  Grand  Council.  As  they  were 
being  led  to  the  execution  ground,  Lin  Shio  asked  for 
permission  to  say  a  few  words,  but  it  was  refused.  T'an 
Su-t'ung,  however,  boldly  spoke  out,  ignoring  permission, 
that  he  had  heard  how  many  Reformers  in  other  lands 
had  died  for  their  country's  good.  "  I  am  willing  to  shed 
my  blood,  if  thereby  my  country  may  be  saved.  But," 
he  cried  to  the  judges,  "  for  every  one  that  perishes 
to-day,  a  thousand  will  rise  up  to  carry  on  the  work 
of  Reform,  and  uphold  loyalty  against  usurpation."  Thus 
died  the  martyrs  of  Reform.  The  betrothed  of  Lin 
Shio,  on  hearing  the  news  of  his  execution,  at  once 
committed  suicide. 

15.  Fate  of  Other  Reformers. 

For  having  recommended  to  the  Throne  four  of  the 
executed  Reformers,  Ch'en  pao  Ch'un,  the  Governor 
of  Hunan,  was  degraded  for  life.  Su  Chih-ching,  a 
prominent  Hanlin,  over  sixty  years  of  age,  was  ordered 
imprisonment  for  the  rest  of  his  life,  for  having  recom- 
mended K'ang  Yu-wei.  His  son,  Su  In-chih,  Chancellor 
of  Education  in  Hunan,  was  degraded  for  life  ;  he 
memorialized  the  Throne  for  permission  to  take  his 
father's  place   in   prison. 

My  old  friend  Chang  Yin-hwan,  whose  former  services 
as  Chinese  Minister  to  the  United  States  and  as  Special 
Envoy  to  Queen  Victoria's  Diamond  Jubilee  might  have 


268  FORTY-FIVE   YEARS   IN   CHINA 

mitigated  his  fate,  was  banished  to  Kashgar,  where  in 
1900  he  was  put  to  death  by  order  of  the  Boxer  leaders. 
Ch'in  Chih,  who  helped  to  write  out  my  Scheme  of 
Reform,  died  of  a  broken  heart.  Wen  T'ing-shih,  whom 
I  had  often  met  in  the  winter  of  1895-6,  and  who 
was  tutor  to  the  Imperial  ladies,  was  ordered  to  be 
arrested,  but  escaped  out  of  the  country. 

Wang  Chao,  friend  of  the  Rev.  George  Owen,  of 
Peking,  and  a  firm  supporter  of  Christianity,  fled  to 
Japan.  A  year  or  two  later,  when  I  was  in  the  S.D.K. 
depot  in  Shanghai,  I  received  a  call  from  a  Buddhist 
priest.  He  asked  me  if  I  knew  him,  but  I  did  not 
recognize  him.  He  would  not  give  me  his  card,  but, 
asking  for  a  pen,  he  traced  on  the  palm  of  his  hand 
the   characters   of  his   name — Wang   Chao. 

16.   Emperor's  Decree  of  Abdication. 

The  close  confinement  of  the  Emperor  by  the  Empress- 
Dowager  resulted  in  prolonged  illness,  and  on  January  4, 
1889,  3-1^  edict  appeared  declaring  that,  owing  to  ill-health, 
the  Emperor  thought  fit  to  abdicate.  This  at  once  gave 
rise  to  great  consternation  among  the  loyal  followers  of 
the  Emperor,  and  among  the  various  protests  from  all 
parts  of  the  Empire  there  came  a  telegram  dispatched 
in  the  name  of  the  scholars,  gentry,  and  merchants  of 
Shanghai,  imploring  the  Empress-Dowager  not  to  permit 
the  Emperor  to  abdicate,  and  referring  to  the  probable 
intervention  of  foreigners  should  the  Empire  die.  The 
man  who  had  drawn  up  the  telegram  was  Ching  Lien 
Shan,  a  Director  of  the  Telegraphs  and  Director  of  the 
first  Shanghai  Girls'  School.  Three  days  later  Mrs. 
Ch'ing,  accompanied  by  a  clerk  from  the  Telegraph  Office, 
called  at  my  house  to  beg  me  to  help  her  husband,  for 
whose  arrest  orders  had  come  to  Peking.  I  advised  him 
to  go  to  Japan  or  Macao,  and  gave  him  letters  of 
introduction  to  friends  in  Hongkong.  As  the  Girls'  School 
was  immediately  closed,  the  director,  before  leaving  for 
Macao,  gave  me  a  Chinese  document,  in  which  the  school 
property  was  registered  in  my  name  to  prevent  its 
confiscation    by    the    Government. 


CHAPTER    Xlir 
A  TRIP  TO  T'lEN-T'AI    MOUNTAIN 

I.   A  Great  Religious   Centre. 

T'ien-t'ai  Mountain,  in  the  province  of  Chekiang,  is 
a  great  religious  centre,  and  may  be  compared  with 
Jerusalem,  Mecca,  Benares,  the  home  of  Confucius  in 
Shantung,  of  the  Taoist  Pope  in  Kiangsi,  and  of  the 
Dalai  Lama  in  Tibet.  It  is  the  centre  of  the  most  popular 
school  of  Buddhism,  where  the  Lotus  Scripture  is  the 
chief  sacred  book,  and  where  the  Pure  Land  School  of 
Omito  Fu,  arriving  probably  from  Egypt,  first  took  root 
in  the  Far  East,  whence  it  has  spread  all  over  China 
and  Japan.  There  are  many  temples  belonging  to  this 
school  on  T'ien-t'ai  Mountain,  and  as  it  was  so  important 
in  the  history  of  Buddhism,  1  was  anxious  to  see  it. 
The  Rev.  Ernest  Box,  of  the  London  Missionary  Society, 
accompanied  me  on  a  visit  to  the  holy  mountain  in  May 
of   1S95. 

2.  A  Manchu  Christian  Proposes  Visit  to  Pope. 

We  took  with  us  a  very  remarkable  Manchu  Christian 
from  Peking,  named  Mr.  Tung.  He  had  been  baptized 
by  the  Roman  Catholic  Church,  confirmed  by  the  Greek 
Church,  had  studied  medicine  under  the  Presbyterians, 
and  had  then  become  a  catechist  under  Bishop  Scott,  of 
the  S.P.G.  He  was  a  very  able,  open-minded  man,  who 
wanted  to  prove  all  things  and  hold  fast  that  which  is 
good.  He  had  an  idea  that  as  he  was  connected  with 
several  branches  of  the  Christian  Church  in  China,  he 
should  go  to  Europe  and  ask  the  Pope  to  unite  all  the 
Christian  bodies   at   work   in    China   into   one.      He   left 


270  FORTY-FIVE   YEARS  IN   CHINA 

Peking  with  this  object,  and  on  arriving  in  Shanghai, 
called  on  me  as  an  old  friend  ;  for  at  one  time  we 
had  lived  in  the  same  compound.  As  his  financial 
resources  were  small  and  he  did  not  know  how  next 
to  proceed,  he  asked  me  for  help  and  advice.  Know- 
ing that  this  scheme  of  his  was  utterly  impracticable, 
I  persuaded  him  to  go  with  Mr.  Box  and  myself  to  visit 
T'ien-t'ai.  Meanwhile,  I  wrote  to  Bishop  Scott  that  I 
had  found  his  lost  sheep,  and  would  keep  him  until  I 
heard  from  him. 

3.  Strange  Superstitions. 

The  following  extracts  are  from  a  diary  I  kept  at 
the  time  : — 

"  At  a  place  called  Ka-li-zen  1  was  much  struck  with 
the  superstition  of  the  people.  A  great  many  shops  were 
selling  clothes  and  houses  for  the  dead,  not  only  of 
paper  but  also  of  silk.  Some  even  went  to  the  expense  of 
making  the  houses  and  clothes  just  as  though  they  were 
for  the  use  of  the  living,  though  the  majority  were  much 
the  same  as  our  toy  things  for  children.  They  sold 
paper  money  in  abundance,  and  rolls  of  paper  dollars  as 
well  as   imitation  gold  ingots. 

"  On  the  way  through  the  streets  we  found  two  groups 
engaged  in  worship.  The  first  was  in  a  shop  on  the 
main  street.  Four  Buddhist  pictures,  about  eighteen 
inches  by  twelve  and  beautifully  coloured,  were  placed 
in  gilt  frames  so  as  to  make  them  more  attractive. 
These  faced  the  street,  and  before  each  knelt  four  semi- 
religious  men,  but  not  clean-shaven  like  the  priests.  They 
wore  special  religious  vestments.  One  of  them  beat  a 
little  ball,  and  seemed  to  keep  time  for  the  rest,  who 
were  reciting  one  of  the  Buddhist  Scriptures.  The  second 
group  was  still  more  impressive  in  some  respects,  as 
the  worshippers  were  more  in  earnest  and  were  mostly 
women.  They  were  gathered  apparently  in  a  private 
house  :  we  heard  a  pleasant  sound  of  chanting,  and, 
turning  our  eyes  in  the  direction  of  the  sound,  we  saw  a 
man   in  an  empty  room  and  about  twenty  middle-aged 


A   TRIP  TO   T'lEN-FAI   MOUNTAIN  271 

women  grouped  in  the  form  of  a  horse-shoe,  chanting 
in  unison  the  Mito  Scripture  of  the  Buddhists.  Our 
informant,  a  native  preacher,  said  they  belonged  to  a 
religious  sect  called  Wu  Wei.  In  both  cases  they  were 
saying  prayers  for  the  sick  ;  and  I  was  told  it  was 
their  custom  here  to  do  this  instead  of  sending  for 
doctors. 

"  On  the  same  walk  we  saw  another  striking  sign  of 
superstition.  An  old  memorial  arch,  which  had  been  built 
to  commemorate  a  man  of  the  city  who  had  lived  to 
the  age  of  a  hundred,  was  to  be  repaired  ;  but  for 
about  two  hundred  yards  on  each  side  along  the  street, 
in  order  to  avert  calamities  from  evil  spirits,  straw  men 
from  one  to  five  feet  in  height  were  placed  on  the 
roofs.  Some  of  these  had  spears,  some  bows  and 
arrows,  and  some  had  rifles  in  their  hands,  ready  to 
repel  any  attack.  There  were  also  figures  of  monkeys 
and  other  tailed  animals  on  the  roofs.  We  also  saw 
several  Taoist  charms  with  an  official  stamp  hung  up 
over  the  doors,  and  the  words :  '  This  is  to  confer 
blessings  and  to  avert  evil  influences.'  From  the  above  it 
is  very  evident  that  the  unseen  is  very  real  to  the  people 
here,  and  that  they  are  very  religious  ;  so  this  region 
ought  to  be  a  splendid  field  for  missionary  work. 

"  Much  silk  is  grown  in  this  district,  and  we  found  that 
a  number  of  words  were  tabooed  lest  some  harm  should 
happen  to  the  silkworms.  Instead  of  '  death,'  one  must 
use  '  peace  '  ;  '  tea  '  sug'gests  snakes,  so  the  word 
'  broth  '  is  used  instead.  '  Oil  '  must  never  be  men- 
tioned as  it  conveys  the  idea  of  swimming  in  the  water, 
and  this,  suggesting  poisonous  things,  is  impropitious,  so 
one  must  use  the  word  '  wood  '  for  '  oil.'  Doors  are 
closed  in  the  silkworm  season,  and  visiting  is  not  allowed, 
nor  any  talk,  or  the  silkworms  will  get  ill  and  die." 

4.  Splendid  Temples  at  Hangchow. 

After  five  days'  travelling  in  a  small  boat,  we  reached 
Hangchow,  iio  miles  south-west  of  Shanghai.  In  11  30 
it  was  the  capital  of  the  dying  Sung  dynasty  and  then 
had  a  population  of  about  two  millions.     It  contains  many 


272  FORTY-FIVE   YEARS   IN   CHINA 

Buddhist  temples.  Dr.  Main,  of  the  Church  Missionary- 
Society,  said  that  a  large  number  which  had  been 
destroyed  by  the  Taiping  rebels  were  now  being  rebuilt 
by  subscriptions  from  the  officials  and  gentry.  We 
arrived  at  the  north  suburb  of  Hangchow  and  went  to  the 
place  where  pilgrims  stay  at  the  end  of  April.  It 
would  be  very  busy  then,  but  was  quiet  and  deserted  now. 

The  first  temple  we  visited  was  called  Mi-to  Sz — 
i.e.  Omito  temple.  Omito  is  the  same  word  as  Amitabha, 
the  Persian  name  for  God.  The  three  divinities  in  the 
principal  hall  were  Amitabha,  Kwanyin,  and  Ta  Shih  Tze. 
Kwanyin,  the  Goddess  of  Mercy,  has  many  of  the  attributes 
of  the  Holy  Spirit,  while  Ta  Shih  Tze  means  "  the  Mighty 
Messiah,"  and  may  be  compared  to  "  the  Saviour  of  the 
world."  Sakyamuni  was  relegated  to  a  back  place,  as 
though  second  in  importance  to  this  Trinity. 

We  were  surprised  to  find  a  Buddhist  Tract  Society 
shop  in  the  city  ;  there  we  bought  several  books,  and 
among  them  a  guide  to  the  Buddhist  temples.  It  gave 
the  number  of  the  monks,  which  ran  into  the  hundreds 
at  some   of  the  temples. 

One  of  the  temples,  Lin-Ying  Sz,  some  three  or  four 
miles  to  the  west  of  the  famous  West  Lake,  had  a 
very  beautiful  approach.  There  was  a  grand  avenue 
of  trees,  and  on  the  left  of  this  was  a  large  limestone 
rock  on  which  were  carved  images  of  Buddha  and  his 
followers.  Farther  on  were  the  four  gigantic  Heavenly 
Guardians,  about  twenty  feet  high.  Beyond  that,  all 
had  been  destroyed  by  the  rebels.  A  priest  led  us  to 
the  western  court  of  the  temple,  where  were  images  of 
the  five  hundred  Lohans  (disciples),  each  more  than  life 
size,  all  being  gilded  and  in  different  attitudes  ;  the 
sight  was  very  impressive.  Two  priests  were  going  round 
lighting  incense  in  front  of  them,  till  the  place  was  filled 
with  smoke.  Among  the  Lohans  was  the  Emperor  Chien- 
ling,  with  yellow  umbrella  over  his  head,  and  in  another 
hall  was  the   Emperor  Kia-ching. 

The  next  temple  we  visited  was  the  Hai-chao  Sz, 
to  the  east  of  the  city.  Here  was  the  chief  monastery  in 
Hangchow,  and  priests  on  their  journeys  had  a  right  to 


A  TRIP  TO   T'lEN-T'AI  MOUNTAIN         273 

stay  here  free  of  charge.  There  were  twenty  such  monas- 
teries in  Hangchow  alone.  The  temple  generally  con- 
tained about  a  hundred  priests,  but  often  there  were  also 
from  one  hundred  to  two  hundred  passing  guests.  It 
had  lately  been  repaired  and  was  in  beautiful  condition. 
The  divinities  in  the  great  hall  were  :  Sakyamuni  in 
the  centre,  Amitabha  on  his  right,  and  Yo-shih  Fo  (the 
great  physician)  on  his  left.  These  three  figures  were 
seated  on  a  platform  twenty  feet  from  the  ground,  and 
were  perhaps  thirty  feet  high.  On  leaving,  my  Peking 
friend,  Mr.  Doong,  called  my  attention  to  a  remarkable 
tablet  high  up  on  the  front  of  the  temple  ;  it  read  : 
"The    Great,    Merciful   Father." 

5.  Shaohing— A  City  of  Lawyers  and  Wine. 

A  few  days  later  we  set  out  for  the  T'ien-t'ai  Mountain, 
about  a  hundred  and  sixty  miles  off,  having  first 
obtained  a  printed  guide  of  the  way.  The  first  important 
stage  was  to  Shaohing,  about  thirty-eight  miles.  This  city 
is  remarkable  for  two  things — its  lawyers  and  its  wines. 
Every  one  of  the  fifteen  hundred  magistrates  in  China  is 
obliged  by  custom  to  provide  himself  with  a  legal  adviser  ; 
all  these  come  from  the  prefecture  of  Shaohing,  where 
there  is  a  sort  of  permanent  college  for  training  these 
lawyers.  So  in  one  sense  one  might  say  that  the  whole 
of  China  is  ruled  by  Shaohing  men.  The  other  thing 
for  which  it  is  remarkable  is  its  wine.  We  call  it  wine, 
though  it  is  not  distilled.  Distilled  spirits  were  not 
known  in  China  till  the  Mongol  dynasty,  1260- 1368. 
Shaohing  wine  is  made  from  rice,  and  is  widely  exported 
all  over  China,  not  in  wooden  barrels  as  are  the  European 
wines,  but  in  earthenware  jars  of  various  sizes.  No 
Chinese  banquet  is  considered  complete  without  a  supply 
of  this  wine,  which  is  always  drunk  warm,  from  small 
cups  which  hold  about  a  dessertspoonful. 

In  the  city  of  Shaohing  there  are  memorial  arches, 
erected  in  memory  of  the  French  officers  who  died  in 
defending  the  city  against  the  Taiping  rebels.  The 
country  is  very  rich,  containing  many  villages  and  fine 
farms,  indicating  great  prosperity.     The  houses  are  built 

18 


274  FORTY-FIVE   YEARS  IN   CHINA 

of  massive  trimmed  stones.  The  work  of  the  labourers  in 
the  rice -fields  which  abound  here  is  very  trying,  as  they 
are  much  of  the  time  in  the  water. 

6.  Travellers'  Agency. 

For  the  convenience  of  travellers  there  is  a  fine 
agency,  by  means  of  which  they  are  passed  on  from  place 
to  place  at  a  regular  fixed  rate,  whether  they  travel  by 
boat  or  are  carried  in  chairs  overland.  This  saves  delay 
in  looking  for  boats  or  chairs  or  coolies,  and  the  trouble 
of  bargaining  for  anything.  The  traveller  buys  a  ticket 
for  the  whole  journey,  and  is  handed  on  at  each  station 
without  a  word  of  strife  or  a  minute's  delay.  Each  coolie 
is  paid  four  hundred  cash  per  day — about  tenpence. 

On  the  way  between  Shaohing  and  Chinghien  we 
travelled  up-stream  in  a  boat  rowed  by  three  men.  The 
river  is  both  tidal  and  subject  to  floods  from  the  rain 
which  comes  down  from  the  mountains.  On  the  Shaohing 
route  the  mountains  are  in  the  distance,  three  to  six  miles 
away,  while  the  flat  country  is  studded  all  over  with  busy 
towns,  and  crossed  in  all  directions  by  canals  of  clear 
water.  Here  we  are  close  to  the  mountains,  with  only 
about  a  quarter  of  a  mile  of  cultivated  land  intervening. 

7.   A  Riot  Averted. 

Late  in  the  afternoon  we  reached  Chang  Kia  Poo 
and  went  ashore.  On  returning  to  the  boat  about  twenty 
young  men  and  boys  followed  us,  some  of  whom  came 
on  board  and  asked  us  for  medicines,  etc.  After  about 
ten  minutes'  friendly  talk,  the  boatman  cried  out  that  we 
were  going  to  start  ;  at  this  they  all  left,  but  were  no 
sooner  ashore  than  they  began  to  yell  out,  "  Foreign 
devils,  foreign  devils  1  "  Seeing  this  deliberate  mischief - 
making,  I  called  to  the  boatman  to  stop  and  jumped 
ashore.  At  this  they  ran  away  in  all  directions,  thinking 
I  was  going  to  catch  them.  But  I  went  direct  to  the 
centre  of  the  town,  selected  the  most  important  shop 
close  to  the  temple,  and  told  the  shopkeepers  what  had 
happened,  and  that  I  had  come  to  speak  to  those  who 
were  responsible  for  the  peace  of  the  place.      In  a  few 


A  TRIP  TO   T'lEN-T'AI   MOUNTAIN         275 

minutes  the  head  of  the  police  came  and  said  that  those 
who  had  made  the  row  were  children.  By  this  time 
the  street  was  filled  with  a  crowd  of  hundreds,  and  there 
was  no  standing  room  in  the  shop.  To  the  policeman  and 
all  I  said  that  the  children  were  only  doing  what  elderly 
people  allowed  them  to  do  ;  if  they  had  not  been  in  the 
habit  of  letting  them  curse  foreigners  they  would  not  have 
done  so  to-day.  I  had  come  to  ask  them  to  put  a  stop 
to  this  rudeness.  Some  suggested  that  the  policeman 
should  seize  the  children  and  take  them  on  to  Chinghien 
with  us.  To  this  I  replied  that  I  did  not  want  to  make 
a  big  affair  of  it,  but  that  if  they  did  not  do  something 
within  half  an  hour  (and  I  pulled  out  my  watch  to  mark 
the  time)  I  should  have  to  make  a  big  affair  of  it. 
Then  a  man  called  Yang  came  forward  and  asked  whether 
we  would  be  satisfied  with  firing  crackers  at  the  temple 
there  or  at  our  boat,  and  with  their  promise  to  warn 
the  people  against  repeating  the  offence.  I  said  I  agreed, 
as  I  did  not  want  to  make  trouble  but  to  end  it.  Within 
two  minutes  big  crackers  were  fired  in  front  of  the  temple, 
and  the  shopkeepers  harangued  the  crowd  on  proper 
behaviour.  I  thanked  the  peacemakers  and  suggested 
that  they  should  come  with  us  to  the  boat.  There  were 
many  hundreds  of  men  in  the  street,  and  during  the  five 
minutes'  walk  to  the  boat  the  shore  was  lined  with  people 
looking  on,  and  about  fifty  followed  us  to  the  boat.  I 
bowed  once  more  to  the  peacemakers  and  thanked  them, 
and  told  them  that  they  had  better  exhort  the  people 
to  behave  properly  lest  a  more  serious  thing  should 
happen  next  time.  This  they  promised  to  do,  and  began 
at  once  to  lecture  the  crowd  who  had  followed  as  the 
shopkeepers  had  done  those  near  the  temple.  Thus 
happily  ended   what  might  have  become  a  riot. 

The  river  is  very  hard  to  navigate.  The  current  ran 
strongly  against  us,  and  the  water  was  shallow,  compelling 
the  men  to  tow  from  the  bank  ;  but  often  the  boat 
got  aground,  and  they  had  to  wade  through  the  water 
sometimes  to  their  waist.  With  four  boatmen  we  made 
only  fifteen  miles  in  nine  hours.  The  next  day  the  work 
was  even  harder  ;    the  men   had  to  track  in  the  water, 


276  FORTY-FIVE   YEARS   IN   CHINA 

in  the  mud,  and  far  away  among  rocks.  The  boat 
frequently  scraped  the  bottom  and  often  stopped  ako- 
gether. 

8.  Laborious  Method  of  Rice  Cultivation. 
Rice  is  very  largely  cultivated  in  this  part  of  the 
country.  It  is  very  hard  work  for  the  farmer.  He 
ploughs  his  ground,  when  it  is  covered  with  water,  with 
the  help  of  a  water  buffalo  ;  he  harrows  it  under  water  ; 
then  he  goes  to  a  little  bed  where  he  has  allowed  rice 
sprouts  to  grow  as  high  as  the  palm  of  one's  hand 
above  the  water,  and  as  thickly  as  possible.  He  plucks 
up  some  hundreds  of  these  by  the  roots  and  ties  them 
into  little  bundles  as  thick  as  one's  arm  ;  these  he  throws 
about  the  harrowed  ground,  which  now  looks  only  like 
a  field  of  muddy  water.  Then  he  tucks  up  his  loose 
trousers  as  high  as  he  can,  takes  one  of  these  bundles 
in  his  hand,  separates  about  ten  sprouts  and  plants  them 
in  the  muddy  water  in  rows  about  a  foot  apart,  with 
ten  inches  between  each  tuft.  In  two  or  three  days  all 
these  will  take  root  and  grow  beautifully.  The  farmer 
goes  in  again,  and  this  time  kneels  in  the  water,  and 
with  his  fingers  stirs  up  the  mud  at  the  roots  ;  in  this 
way  he  causes  the  rice  to  grow  more  quickly.  Thus  one 
sees  what  toil  it  is  to  the  farmer  to  grow  rice. 

9.  Gigantic  Images  of  Buddha. 

Before  reaching  T'ien-t'ai  we  pass  Ching  Hsien  and 
Shin-chang  Hsien,  at  which  latter  place  is  the  largest 
image  of  Buddha  to  be  found  in  China.  The  guide  to 
the  temples  at  T'ien-t'ai  told  us  that  the  Ta  Fo 
Sz  image,  which  was  130  feet  high,  was  not  as 
large  as  the  gigantic  im^-ge  at  Shin- Chang  Hsien. 
It  is  cut  in  the  rock  in  a  sitting  posture,  and  a  temple 
above  it  cut  out  of  the  same  cliff  is  covered  with 
innumerable  Buddhas  and  Bodhisatvas  ;  hence  it  is  called 
the  Temple  of  the  Thousand  Buddhas.  The  most  noted 
feature  is  the  gigantic  Buddha  himself,  whose  crossed 
leg  alone  from  knee  to  foot  is  thirty  feet  long.  The 
Daibuitsu  of  Kamakura  in  Japan  would  be  a  dwarf  beside 


A  TRIP  TO   T'lEN-T'AI  MOUNTAIN  277 

this.  During  conversation  with  the  Abbot  at  the  temple, 
he  said  that  man's  greatest  difficulty  was  to  get  rid  of 
self  ;  till  that  was  accomplished  there  was  no  hope  for 
the  world.  He  also  told  us  that  the  most  important 
book  they  possessed  was  the   "  Lotus   Scripture." 

10.  Other  Temples. 

At  last  we  reach  T'ien-t'ai.  On  the  mountain  there 
are  temples  and  monasteries  every  three  or  four  miles 
apart  ;    but  I  will  mention  only  the  most  important. 

Ching-Liang  temple,  according  to  my  aneroid  1,580 
feet  above  sea  level,  contained  about  thirty  people  ;  half 
of  these  were  priests,  and  the  other  half  cultivated  the 
temple  lands — about  fifty  acres.  Twelve  miles  farther 
on  we  arrived  at  Ti-Tsang  temple,  2,750  feet  high  ; 
here  there  is  an  image  of  the  Bishop  of  Hades,  the 
Japanese  Jiso.  After  another  five  miles  we  reached 
Wan  Nien  temple,  2,400  feet  high.  The  chief  hall 
has  Sakyamuni  in  the  centre,  Ananda  on  the  east,  and 
Kasgapa  on  the  west.  Behind  is  an  empty  room,  but 
upstairs  is  a  solitary  image  of  Vairochana,  a  most 
ancient  god  ;  above  the  hair  was  a  red  ball,  said  to 
represent  light  emanating  from  him.  There  was  a  third 
hall  with  five  hundred  Lohans  in  five  rows,  ascending 
in  galleries  one  behind  the  other,  and  each  fifteen  inches 
high.  Three  sides  of  the  hall  were  enclosed  with  glass 
doors.  In  a  loft  above  was  the  library  of  the  Buddhist 
Scriptures.  One  cupboard  was  empty,  the  other  was 
only  partially  filled,  and  the  contents  sadly  torn  by  rats. 

1 1 .  Temple  Worship. 

The  bell  rang  for  worship,  so  we  went  down  to  the 
service.  It  was  divided  into  five  parts.  In  the  first 
the  priests  were  standing,  in  the  second  kneeling  ;  in 
the  third  standing,  while  one  priest  officiated,  offering 
incense  ;  in  the  fourth  they  moved  in  procession  round 
the  hall  ;  and  in  the  fifth  they  knelt  again.  The 
worshippers  were  twenty-four  priests,  half  of  whom  were 
under  fifteen  years  of  age.  The  youngest,  an  orphan 
who    had    been    there    only    two    months,    seemed    the 


278  FORTY-FIVE   YEARS   IN   CHINA 

brightest  of  the  lot.  They  stood  in  four  rows  of  three 
facing  the  east,  and  in  three  rows  of  three  facing  the 
west,  all  about  a  yard  apart.  They  used  five  musical 
instruments,  viz.  a  large  bell,  a  wooden  fish,  a  drum, 
a  triangle,  and  a  small  hand-bell.  There  seemed  to 
be  no  attempt  to  sing  the  same  note  ;  each  priest  had 
his  own,  except  near  the  end  when  they  chanted  in 
unison.  But  time  was  carefully  observed.  At  first  the 
rate  was  slow^  about  one  syllable  a  second  ;  then  they 
got  faster  and  faster  till  they  galloped  through  at  the 
rate  of  four  notes  per  second.  It  was  very  sad  to 
see  all  this  mummery  going  on  without  a  word  of 
explanation.  Some  of  the  priests  told  me  that  they 
could  recite  some  of  their  commonest  Scriptures,  but 
did  not  understand  them.  In  this  temple  was  a  preaching 
hall  for  the  teaching  of  the  law.  There  was  preaching 
on  the  mountain  last  year.  The  custom  was  to  have 
preaching  daily  from  the  fourth  to  the  eighth  moon, 
but  this  year  there  was  none,  most  of  the  professors 
having  gone  down  to  Ningpo,  Shaohing,  Hangchow, 
Soochow,  or  Shanghai  to  preach  by  invitation  ;  they 
return  to  the  mountain  in  the  winter. 

The  next  day,  after  spending  the  night  in  the  temple 
as  usual,  we  went  on  another  five  miles  to  Shining 
Light  temple  (Fang-Kwang  Sz).  Here  we  were  told 
the  ages  of  the  six  chief  abbots  on  the  mountain  ;  the 
oldest  is  seventy  and  the  youngest  is  thirty-seven.  They 
said  there  were  seventy -two  temples  and  one  hundred  and 
eight  hermits'  huts,  but  many  of  these  are  now  in  ruins. 

12.   A  Hermit's   Hut. 

As  our  way  passed  close  by  one  of  these  we  went 
in  to  see  the  hermit.  We  found  a  man  locked  up  in 
his  room  in  a  part  of  the  temple  farm.  There  was 
a  round  hole  in  the  wall  fifteen  inches  in  diameter, 
through  which  he  received  his  food.  He  was  from 
Shanghai,  and  had  made  a  vow  to  remain  there  for 
four  years,  three  of  which  had  already  passed.  The 
priests  called  out  that  visitors  had  come,  and  he  opened 
the    door.       On    asking    him    what    his    object    was    in 


A  TRIP  TO   T'lEN-T'AI  MOUNTAIN  279 

making  such  a  vow  he  said  it  was  to  keep  his  mind 
from  evil  thoughts.  On  our  inquiry  whether  we  might 
photograph  him  he  said  he  had  no  objection,  so  we  took 
a  photograph  of  his  face  at  the  hole.  He  had  an 
earnest  face,  and  his  hair  had  grown  to  about  ten  inches 
in    length. 

13.  HwA  Ting  Sz. 

Hwa  Ting  Sz  is  the  highest  temple  on  the  mountain, 
being  3,400  feet  high.  Like  most  of  the  temples,  it 
is  situated  in  a  very  lonely  spot.  There  are  within 
a  radius  of  two  miles  a  hundred  huts  around  it. 
The  abbot  of  Hwa  Ting  Sz  is  fifty -five  years  of  age. 
He  is  very  smart  and  well  informed  about  everything  ; 
only  he  seems  too  much  of  a  cynic,  having  known  the 
true  ideal  of  religion,  but  also  how  sadly  far  it  is 
from  being  attained.  He  spoke  of  priests  doing  nothing 
but  going  through  their  fixed  prayers  morning  and 
evening,  and  then  following  their  own  inclinations  entirely 
about  study  or  religion  or  idling.  He  said  that  Buddhist 
temples  were  for  three  purposes  :  for  Tsing  (meditation), 
Kiao  (instruction),  and  Li  (ceremonies).  T'ien-t'ai  is 
mainly  devoted  to  instruction  ;  Kwoh  Ching  monastery, 
however,    is    famous    for    its    meditation. 

From  this  temple  we  went  to  the  highest  peak,  called 
Pa  King  tai,  and  found  it  was  just  4,000  feet  high. 
We  were  surrounded  with  mist  and  could  not  take  any 
photographs  there. 

14.   More  Hermits'   Huts. 

On  the  way  down  we  visited  several  hermits'  huts. 
The  first  was  fastened  and  nobody  answered  to  our  call. 
In  another  we  found  a  man  with  shaven  head,  sitting 
cross-legged  on  a  chair  reading  the  "  Diamond  Sutra." 
I  asked  him  whether  he  understood  the  prophecy  of 
the  sixth  chapter,  where  it  is  said  :  "  Five  hundred  years 
after  me  there  will  come  the  Fountain  of  all  the  Buddhas. 
When  that  one  comes  have  faith  in  Him."  He  relaxed 
from  his  indifference  and  got  us  some  tea,  asking  for 
an    explanation   of  the   words.      I   interpreted   it   to   him 


280  FORTY-FIVE   YEARS   IN   CHINA 

as  a  prophecy  of  Jesus  Christ,  who  appeared  five  hundred 
years  after  Buddha.  The  hermit  said  he  had  never 
had  the  passage  interpreted  before,  although  he  had 
been  reading  it  for  thirty  years.  Some  fifty  yards  away 
was  another  hut,  where  Hved  a  man  and  his  wife  between 
sixty  and  seventy  years  old.  The  woman  had  a  very 
fine  face,  and  was  reciting  prayers  all  the  time  she 
was  at  work.  They  earned  their  living  by  picking  tea, 
and  were  paid  eight  cash  per  catty  ;  they  sold  three 
catties  (4  lb.)  for  about  two  shillings.  Pointing 
to  a  sealed  door  in  which  was  a  round  hole  about  a 
foot  in  diameter,  we  asked  whether  there  was  a  priest 
inside.  She  said  there  was,  but  we  could  not  speak 
to  him  then  as  it  was  his  time  for  prayer  and  medita-i 
tion,  and  then  women  only  spoke  in  whispers.  The 
abbot  told  us  that  over  a  hundred  such  persons  lived 
round  about  there  in  these  huts,  and  never  appeared 
unless  some  charitable  person  made  large  presents  to 
the  monastery  ;  then  they  would  all  come  to  worship 
and  feast  at  Hwa  Ting  Sz. 

15.   Chin-Kwoh  Sz. 

After  dinner  we  started  off  and  travelled  ten  miles 
to  Chin-Kwoh  temple.  Here  my  name  was  known,  as 
I  had  met  one  of  the  monks  in  Shanghai.  Dr.  Franke, 
a  German  friend  of  mine,  a  good  Sanscrit  scholar, 
whom  I  had  met  when  he  was  studying  Chinese  at  the 
German  Legation  in  Peking,  and  who  was  in  search 
of  Sanscrit  literature,  had  been  at  this  famous  temple 
making  inquiries  about  the  founder  of  the  T'ien-t'ai 
school  of  Buddhism.  The  abbot,  Min  Hi,  was  the  most 
famous  of  all  those  in  the  mountain.  He  had  collected 
thirteen  thousand  dollars  to  rebuild  the  monastery.  Here, 
in  the  chief  hall,  instead  of  an  image  of  one  of  the 
Buddhas,  there  is  a  small  pagoda.  Such  a  thing  being 
so  unusual,  I  photographed  it. 

16.   Kwoh-Ching   Sz. 

The  next  day  we  descended  to  Kwoh-Ching  temple, 
only    810    feet    high.      The    monastery    was    very    fine, 


A   TRIP  TO   T'lEN-T'AI  MOUNTAIN  281 

like  Hai  Chao  temple  in  Hangchow.  The  divinities 
were  Sakyamuni,  Yo  Shih  Fo,  and  Omito  in  a  sitting 
posture.  The  newest  part  was  very  bright  ;  there  were  five 
hundred  Lohans  below,  and  a  fine  Buddhist  library  in  good 
condition  upstairs.  Close  by  on  the  west  side  was  a 
compound  devoted  to  the  Three  Holy  Ones  ;  these  were 
Omito,  Kwanyin,  and  Ta  Shih  Tsz,  all  standing,  and 
about  twenty  feet  high  ;  over  each  was  an  umbrella 
to  denote  their  royal  or  imperial  rank.  We  went  to 
the  kitchen  and  saw  a  large  rice-pot  seven  feet  five 
inches  in  diameter  ;  it  was  not  in  use,  but  there  were 
some  myths  in  connection  with  it.  We  also  saw  several 
pots  five  or  six  feet  in  diameter,  which  were  used  to 
provide  food  for  i6o  priests  who  belong  to  the  place. 
There  was  a  Meditation  Hall.  On  the  west  side  of 
the  altar,  in  the  centre  of  the  room^  was  a  seat  covered 
with  blue  calico.  All  round  close  to  the  wall  was  a 
wide  bench  of  about  two  or  more  feet  ;  on  this  were 
forty  or  fifty  cushions,  where  the  priests  sit  in  medita- 
tion three  times  a  day.  This  is  said  to  be  peculiar 
to  this  temple.  In  the  Divinity  Hall,  instead  of  a 
pulpit,  was  an  empty  chair,  where  the  abbot  sat  when 
preaching.  Tsing  Ching,  the  priest  who  looked  after 
us  in  this  temple,  was  one  of  the  finest  I  ever  met  ;  he 
was  a  veritable  Nathanael.  He  was  thirty-four  years 
of  age,  and  had  travelled  extensively  all  over  China, 
and  wished  to  see  India  and  other  parts  of  the  world. 
Besides  the  above  feature  there  is  another  that  cannot 
be  forgotten,  viz.  the  court  and  temple  to  the  True 
Prince,  Original  Founder.  It  is  covered  within  and 
without  with  tablets  of  thanksgiving  for  answers  given 
to  prayers. 

17.    Birthday   of   Kwan-ti   and   Temple    of   the 
True   Prince. 

To-day  is  the  birthday  of  Kwan-ti,  the  God  of  War  ; 
and  we  were  fortunate  enough  to  witness  a  great  religious 
gathering  of  women.  They  began  to  arrive  at  noon 
the  day  before,  and  by  sunset  the  yards  of  the  various 
compounds   were   filled   with   women   from   forty  to  fifty 


282  FORTY-FIVE  YEARS  IN  CHINA 

years  of  age  and  over.  The  priest  told  us  some  of  these 
had  come  to  "  beg  for  a  dream."  On  our  way  to 
the  city  pf  T'iea-t'ai  in  the  afternoon  we  met  many 
women  all  along  the  way  coming  towards  the  temple. 
Om'  guide  said  it  was  the  custom  for  the  women  in  this 
region  to  go  to  the  temple  and  pray  for  a  dream  ; 
if  they  get  one  they  go  to  friends  (not  to  priests)  to  ask 
for  the  interpretation.  If  they  learn  that  some  fine  things 
are  coming  to  pass,  they  go  to  the  temple  and  burn 
incense,  or  read  prayers,  or  present  a  tablet  in  thanks- 
giving. 

After  supper  we  heard  a  great  deal  of  noise  of  women 
talking  not  far  off.  We  asked  the  leading  priests  if 
we  might  see  what  the  women  were  doing  ;  they  readily 
assented,  and  about  eight  o'clock  led  us  to  the  court  of 
the  True  Prince.  Being  the  twelfth  day  of  the  moon, 
it  was  bright  moonlight,  but  the  priest  carried  a  lamp 
before  us.  We  found  a  frame  in  the  middle  of  the 
hall  in  front  of  the  idol,  with  about  a  dozen  small 
red  candles  about  the  thickness  of  one's  finger  burning 
in  it.  On  the  floor,  filling  every  available  space,  were 
women,  lying  down  in  their  clothes  without  any  bedding 
either  under  or  over  them.  In  the  east  side  of  the 
room  appeared  a  g'roup  of  about  half  a  dozen  men  reading 
some  prayers  at  a  table  ;  the  leader  seemed  to  be  about 
sixty  years  of  age.  The  women  were  lying  not  only 
in  the  temple,  but  also  in  the  veranda  and  the  court- 
yard ;  there  was  just  room  for  us  to  pass  with  care 
between  them  into  the  temple.  Two  or  three  priests 
were  passing  in  and  out  among  them,  as  though  seeing 
that  things  were  in  order,  but  the  majority  of  the  priests 
were  away  in  other  courtyards.  After  returning  to  our 
room  we  heard  the  sound  of  music  for  about  an  hour, 
but  by  ten  o'clock  all  was  still  except  for  an  occasional 
voice  or  a  little  laugh. 

About  three  o'clock  in  the  morning  the  priests  rose 
and  had  their  prayers,  with  ringing  of  bells,  beating 
of  drums,  etc.,  in  the  great  hall.  Between  four  and 
five  the  women  in  their  hall  of  the  True  Prince  got 
up    and    recited    their    prayers,    two    teachers    from    the 


A   TRIP  TO   T'lEN-T'AI  MOUNTAIN         283 

city,  fifty  or  sixty  years  of  age,  leading  them.  Seeing 
so  many  women  had  come  and  were  now  leaving 
rapidly,  I  wrote  a  sentence  in  large  Chinese  characters 
on  yellow  paper — that  there  was  an  opportunity  for  elect 
ones  to  know  the  incomparable  and  almighty  Saviour, 
so  that  the  women  might  have  one  message  to  take 
home  with  them.  I  laid  this  on  the  table  on  the 
veranda,  where  the  teachers  came  pressing  round  to 
look  on.  The  teachers  explained  in  the  dialect  of  the 
place  the  meaning  of  the  sentence,  so  the  women  took 
some  idea  of  it  home  with  them. 

Whilst  I  was  doing  this  a  countryman  of  about  thirty 
years  of  age  began  to  recite  one  of  the  Buddhist  prayers 
called  the  "  Heart  Prayer."  He  did  it  as  fast  as  his 
lips  could  move,  every  now  and  then  gasping  for  breath, 
repeating  it  as  though  for  dear  life  ;  but  he  knew  the 
prayer  so  thoroughly  that  he  said  it  mechanically,  and 
could  listen  to  what  I  was  saying  and  count  his 
beads  at  the  same  time. 

On  walking  through  the  temple  grounds  we  found 
remains  of  phallic  worship  over  two  feet  high  in  one 
of  the  corners.  We  left  the  temple  and  turned  our 
faces  towards  Shanghai,  having  received  a  very  hearty 
farewell    from    the    priests. 

1 8.  Men  Reduced  to  Beasts  of  Burden. 

On  the  road  we  met  many  carriers  going  from  Ta 
Koo-tow  to  T'ien-t'ai,  a  distance  of  eighty  miles.  They 
carried  burdens  of  two  hundred  catties  each,  taking  six 
days  to  travel  the  whole  way.  They  get  sixteen  cash 
per  catty,  which  works  out  at  about  elevenpence  a 
ton  per  mile.  It  was  pitiable  to  see  these  men  carrying 
such  heavy  burdens  for  want  of  better  means  of  transport. 
It  is  extraordinary  that  there  are  scarcely  any  beasts 
of  burden  in  all  this  region  ;  during  the  three  weeks 
we  have  been  away  we  have  seen  only  three  donkeys 
and  not  a  single  mule.  Horses  are  very  rare.  There 
are  many  cows  and  water  bufifaloes,  but  they  are  only 
used   for    ploughing. 


284  FORTY-FIVE   YEARS   IN   CHINA 

19.  A  Remarkable  Prescription. 

On  the  wall  of  one  of  the  inns  where  we  spent  a 
night  was  the  following  remarkable  prescription,  which 
seems  to  sum  up  the  teaching  of  the  T'ien-t'ai  Mountain 
temples  : — 

A  Fine  Tonic  Prescription  for  Mankind,  called  the  Tincture 

OF  Purity. 

Yin  Yang  The  whole 

Favours  Enough 

Careful  speech  To  flavour 

Straightforwardness  Three  grains 

Duty  According  to  occasion 

Love  and  righteousness  Practise  extensively 

Honesty  One  piece 

Goodness  of  heart  A  slice 

Carefulness  A  bit 

Gambling  Wash  entirely  away 

Faith  Be  careful  of 

Peacemaking  A  lump 

Joy  A  large  quantity 

Bowels  of  mercy  The  whole  length 

Patience  10,000  parts 

Worship  of  heaven  and  earth  ] 

A  pure  heart  >        As  much  as  is  needed. 

Days  and  months  ) 

In  all  twenty  kinds.  Let  them  be  made  into  pills  called  seeds  of 
wisdom.  Take  108  for  a  dose.  Use  it  for  the  benefit  of  three 
others.     Let  this  tincture  for  calming  the  heart  be  taken  warm. 

Incompatibles :  the  knife  of  sarcasm,  the  secret  arrow,  impure 
speech. 

This  prescription  is  circulated  from  the  Palace  of  Reform  on  the 
spiritual  mountain  ;  a  speciality  for  healing  all  men  and  women  of  all 
diseases,  such  as  unfaithfulness,  unfilialness,  want  of  love,  want  of 
justice,  and  such  like.  Whoever  takes  the  medicine  according  to 
prescription  never  fails  of  cure. 

20.  Our  Inn  Accommodation. 

As  for  the  inn,  we  were  shown,  on  arriving,  to  a. 
room  below  the  level  of  the  road,  but  afterwards  we 
were  taken  upstairs,  and  on  opening  the  door  we  found 
a  room  level  with  the  road  at  the  back.  On  the  floor, 
for  sleeping  accommodation,  were  strips  of  straw,  about 


A   TRIP  TO   T'lEN-T'AI   MOUNTAIN  285 

two  and  a  half  inches  thick,  sewn  together  to  form  a 
mattress.  This  was  rolled  up  at  each  end  so  that 
either  end  would  do  for  a  pillow  ;  and  if  the  accommo- 
dation was  not  sufficient,  two  men  might  sleep  on  the 
same  mattress,  heads  and  tails.  These  mattresses  were 
laid  all  round  the  room,  leaving  only  walking  room 
in  the  centre.  There  were  sixteen  of  us  sleeping  in 
that  room.  In  case  of  further  need  there  were  a  few 
boards  on  the  beams  over  one  part  of  the  room,  where 
half  a  dozen  more  might  sleep. 

Such  were  the  main  features  of  a  most  interesting 
trip.  We  were  away  a  month,  returning  to  Shanghai 
on  June    i  ith. 


CHAPTER    XIV 
MY  SECOND   FURLOUGH.     1896-7 

I.  Fellow-passenger  with  Li  Hung-chang. 

On  my  way  to  Europe,  I  intended  to  visit  India,  first 
of  all  to  see  Dr.  Murdoch,  Secretary  of  the  Christian 
Literature  Society  for  India,  whose  experiences  would 
be  of  great  value  to  me,  and  secondly,  to  see  conditions 
of  Mission  work  in  India.  My  companion  on  this  trip 
was  the  Rev.  A.  G.  Shorrock,  of  the  B.M.S.  in  Shensi,  a 
very  able  and  earnest  missionary.  We  travelled  second 
class  on  the  French  mail,  and  shared  a  cabin  together 
with  four  Jesuit  priests.  As  they  spoke  very  little 
English,  and  we  could  not  speak  their  native  tongue, 
we    conversed    in    Chinese. 

The  chief  passenger  on  board  was  Li  Hung-chang, 
who  was  going  to  Europe  to  attend  the  Coronation  of 
the  Czar.  I  had  several  talks  with  him.  He  expressed 
surprise  that  considering  the  important  part  I  had  taken 
in  Missions  and  in  Chinese  Reform^,  I  should  be  travel- 
ling second  class,  while  his  secretaries  were  first-class 
passengers. 

2.  Visit  to  Madras. 

From  Ceylon  we  went  to  Madras,  where  Dr.  Murdoch 
had  his  headquarters.  He  had,  ever  since  the  Indian 
Mutiny,  spent  his  life  in  C.L.S.  work  there.  He  received 
us  with  great  kindness,  and  treated  us  as  a  father  would 
his  own  sons.  He  explained  to  me  all  his  methods 
of  work,  and  showed  me  all  the  accounts  and  the  private 
books   which  revealed  the  inner   springs  of  his  actions. 

On  visiting  the  Mission  schools  in  India,  where  work 
was  fifty  years  older  than  in  China,  we  found  that  they 

286 


MY  SECOND   FURLOUGH  287 

were  on  a  scale  ten  times  as  large  as  those  in  China. 
While  the  schools  in  China  at  that  time  had  on  an  average 
only  about  sixty  pupils,  in  Madras  the  pupils  numbered 
six  hundred. 

The  sight  of  Dr.  Miller's  Christian  College  was  a 
great  inspiration.  On  the  ground  floor  were  elementary 
classes.  The  next  floor  was  devoted  to  what  we 
might  call  middle-school  work,  the  next  above  was 
occupied  by  students  preparing  for  matriculation,  the 
floor  above  by  B.A.  and  M.A.  students,  while  the 
highest  floor  of  all  was  devoted  to  research  work.  The 
whole  building  was  like  a  vast  human  beehive. 

Dr.  Miller  had  undergone  for  several  years  a  very 
fiery  ordeal  of  attack  from  those  who  argued  that 
educational  work  was  not  properly  missionary  work, 
precisely  the  same  storm  of  opposition  to  educational  work 
which  had  agitated  China  missionaries  while  I  was  acting 
editor  of  the  Messenger  in  1893,  However,  Dr.  Miller 
emerged  from  the  attack  triumphant,  and  was  vindicated 
by  the  action  of  the  Free  Church  of  Scotland  in  appoint- 
ing him   Moderator. 

3.   Trip  across   India. 

We  planned  to  go  to  Calcutta  after  leaving  Madras, 
and  then  across  India,  via  Benares  and  Delhi,  to  Bombay, 
where  we  were  to  rejoin  the  French  mail  in  three  weeks' 
time.  It  was  in  the  month  of  May.  Our  friends  in  Madras 
strongly  advised  us  against  undertaking  the  journey,  as 
there  was  cholera  in  Calcutta,  and  none  of  the  old 
residents  ever  thought  of  travelling  in  the  extreme  heat. 
Shorrock  and  I  looked  at  one  another,  and  we  said, 
"It  is  now  or  never.  We  have  the  chance  of  seeing 
India,  and  we  must  take  it."  So  we  travelled  by  steamer 
to  Calcutta,  where  Shorrock  had  a  very  sharp  attack 
of   cholera,   narrowly   escaping   with   his   life. 

At  six  o'clock  one  evening  we  left  Calcutta  by  train, 
reaching  Benares  at  three  o'clock  the  following  after- 
noon. We  were  to  stay  with  Mr.  Lazarus,  a  Hebrew 
Christian  from  Carmarthen  in  South  Wales,  who  was 
agent     of    the    Rani.       He    had     married     an    adopted 


288  FORTY-FIVE   YEARS   IN   CHINA 

daughter  of  the  famous  missionary  Carey.  By  mistake 
we  left  the  train  at  the  wrong  station,  and  there  was 
no  one  to  meet  us.  We  had  to  ride  in  a  gharry  across 
the  city.  The  heat  was  hke  that  of  a  furnace,  and  we 
felt  as  though  we  were  breathing  flame.  On  arriving 
at  the  home  of  Dr.  Lazarus,  the  old  lady's  first  words 
to  us  were  :  "  Are  you  mad.,  to  travel  through  the  city 
at  this  time  of  day?  Go  to  bed  at  once.  I  will  have 
you  called  when  it  is  cool  enough  for  you  to  go  out. 
Punkah  wallah,  pull  the  punkah  !  "  Later  on  she  served 
us  with  tea,  and  sent  us  in  her  carriage  to  look  at  the 
sights.  The  following  day  one  of  her  daughters  took 
us  to  see  the  bathing  in  the  Ganges  river,  the  burning 
of  the  dead  on  the  river  banks,  and  the  worship  at 
the  temples. 

4.  Delhi. 

At  Agra  we  visited  the  incomparable  Taj  Mahal.  But 
the  most  wonderful  sight  to  me  was  the  famous  Kutab 
Minar,  near  Delhi.  We  left  Delhi  at  sundown,  under 
the  guidance  of  Mr.  Thomas,  one  of  our  B.M.S. 
missionaries,  and  reached  the  Government  rest-house  close 
by  the  Kutab  Minar,  where  we  slept  till  dawn  next 
day.  We  ascended  to  the  top  of  that  wonderful  tower, 
built  exactly  in  the  shape  of  a  telescope,  and  saw  the 
sun  rise.  The  Kutab  Mosque  and  Minar  were  built 
by  the  Mohammedan  rulers  of  India  about  seven  hundred 
years  ago  as  a  monument  of  the  triumph  of  monotheism 
over  idolatry.  They  took  their  name  from  one  of  the 
slave  rulers  who  began  the  tower  and  added  to  the 
Mosque.  In  the  courtyard  of  the  Mosque  was  one  of 
the  great  marvels  of  India,  an  iron  pillar.  It  had 
been  erected  some  centuries  before  the  Christian  era 
and  the  Moslems  had  used  it  as  the  Turks  in  Constanti- 
nople  adapted   to   their   use   the    Mosque    of   St.    Sophia. 

On  the  way  back  to  Delhi,  Mr.  Thomas  told  us  the 
wonderful  tale  of  one  of  the  sacred  shrines  near  by. 
It  was  the  tomb  of  a  holy  man  famed  for  his  wonders 
and  miracles,  whose  power  had  rivalled  that  of  the 
Emperor.  In  the  latter 's  absence,  his  son  plotted  against 
him  and   sought   the   help   of  the   saint.      The  Emperor, 


MY   SECOND   FURLOUGH  289 

hearing  of  the  conspiracy,  vowed  vengeance  on  his 
return,  but  the  holy  man  declared  that  he  would  never 
again  be  in  Delhi,  When  the  Emperor's  campaign  ended 
in  triumph,  he  sent  word  that  he  would  inflict  dire 
punishment  on  the  rebels  when  he  returned.  The  saint 
sent  back  the  word,  "  Delhi  is  a  long  way  off  !  "  Every 
day  as  the  Emperor  neared  his  capital  he  sent  a 
messenger  with  the  news,  and  every  day  came  back 
the  reply,  "  Delhi  is  a  long  way  off  !  "  At  last  the 
Emperor  with  his  host  encamped  in  the  suburbs  of  the 
city,  and  again  the  reply  came  back  from  the  prophet, 
"  Delhi  IS  yet  a  long  way  off  !  "  Then  the  princes 
and  ministers  left  the  city  to  welcome  the  victorious 
Emperor  back.  At  the  end  of  the  reception,  when  all 
had  left  his  presence,  the  pavilion  where  he  sat  suddenly 
gave  way  and  crushed  him  to  death.  Delhi  was  yet  a 
long   way   off  ! 

At  Bombay,  when  walking  out  at  about  ten  o'clock 
in  the  evening,  I  found  I  could  not  use  the  side-walks, 
for  they  were  lined  with  people  lying  down  to  sleep 
in  the  open  air,  because  of  the  great  heat.  Next  day, 
while  embarking  on  the  French  mail,  I  found  the  heat 
so    oppressive    that    I    nearly    fainted. 

When  we  passed  through  the  Red  Sea  it  was  so 
cool    that    we    had   actually    to    put    on    heavier    coats. 

5.  Paris, 

From  Marseilles  I  went  to  Paris,  where  my  wife  met 
me  with  our  four  daughters,  who  had  been  there 
at  school.  Two  of  them  I  had  not  seen  for  ten  years. 
After  a  few  weeks  together,  my  wife  took  the  g'irls 
to  school  in  Hanover,  and  I  went  to  London.  As  I 
was  leaving  Paris,  a  most  extraordinary  catastrophe  took 
place.  A  cyclone  whirled  through  the  city,  overturning 
the  huge  omnibuses  with  their  elephantine  horses,  and 
dashing  them  hke  feathers  against  the  street  shops,  with 
such  force  that  many  people  were  killed  and  numbers 
were  injured.  Although  I  was  riding  on  my  way  to 
the  station  while  it  occurred,  the  pathway  of  the  destruc- 
tive  cyclone   was   in   such  a  narrow   radius  that   I   knew 

19 


290  FORTY-FIVE   YEARS  IN  CHINA 

nothing  of  the  terrible  occurrence  till  I  reached  London, 
where  the  papers  were  full  of  it. 

6.  Reception  by  the  B.M.S.   Committee. 

My  first  step  in  England  was  to  report  myself  to 
the  Baptist  Missionary  Society.  According  to  custom, 
the  returned  missionaries  when  welcomed  back  were 
expected  to  say  a  few  words  to  the  Committee.  Besides 
Mr.  Shorrock  and  myself,  there  were  four  or  five  others 
from  other  parts  of  the  Mission-field.  Instead  of  making 
a  set  speech,  I  had  a  box  of  Chinese  books  which 
I  had  published,  or  with  which  I  had  been  associated 
during  the  ten  years  since  I  had  last  been  in  England. 
They  consisted  of  an  edition  of  the  silver-bound  New 
Testament  presented  to  the  Empress-Dowager,  my 
translation  of  Mackenzie's  "  Nineteenth  Century  "  in 
eight  Chinese  volumes,  the  "  Historical  Benefits  of 
Christianity,"  the  bound  annual  volumes  of  the  Review 
of  the  Times,  the  Missionary  Review,  and  of  the 
Chinese  daily  newspaper  I  had  edited  in  Tientsin, 
together  with  the  copies  from  our  own  Review  of  the 
Times.  As  I  took  them  out  one  by  one  I  gave  a 
brief  description  of  each  volume,  and  the  Committee 
felt  I  had  given  ample  proof  of  my  diligence  since  I 
had  met  them  last. 

7.  Appeal  to  the  Missionary  Secretaries' 
Association. 

Mr.  Baynes,  secretary  of  the  B.M.S.,  kindly  arranged 
that  in  February  I  should  address  the  joint  meeting  of 
missionary  secretaries.  I  gave  them  a  lecture  on  "  The 
Great  Awakening  of  China,"  dwelling  especially  on  the 
Reform  Movement  produced  by  the  S.D.K.  literature, 
and  appealed  to  them  to  set  more  men  apart  to  do 
this  kind  of  missionary  work.  Their  response  was 
hearty.  They  said  they  felt  thoroughly  convinced  of 
the  importance  of  that  kind  of  work,  and  promised  me 
their  support  if  I  appealed  to  each  missionary  society 
as  I  had  done  to  them.  Thus  reinforcements  came 
from    other    societies.      The    Church    Missionary    Society 


MY  SECOND  FURLOUGH  291 

set  apart  the  Rev.  Gilbert  Walshe,  M.A.,  to  help  in 
literary  work,  and  the  Wesleyan  Society  the  Rev. 
W.  A.  Cornaby.  The  London  Mission  pleaded  that 
they  could  not  release  any  of  their  suitable  men,  but 
would  contribute  an  annual  amount  to  the  S.D.K.  funds. 

8.  Other  Appeals  to  the  Religious  Tract 
Society. 

The  Bible  Societies  were  established  in  England  and 
America  for  the  purpose  of  circulating  the  Scriptures 
throughout  the  world.  When  strong  appeals  were  made 
that  the  efficiency  of  Bible  distribution  would  be  greatly 
increased  if  explanatory  tracts  were  circulated  with  them, 
only  the  Scotch  Bible  Society  agreed  to  do  it.  The  Bible 
Societies  of  England  and  America  replied  that  the  Con- 
stitution of  their  respective  societies  would  not  permit  it. 

A  similar  difficulty  arose  in  connection  with  the 
Religious  Tract  Society,  which  was  originally  formed  to 
circulate  tracts  in  Christian  lands.  When  missionaries 
commenced  work  in  India,  China,  and  Japan,  they  soon 
found  that  the  books  on  general  knowledge  based  on 
Christian  principles  greatly  helped  the  Mission  cause. 
Consequently,  in  India,  the  Christian  Literature  Society 
devoted  its  energies  after  the  Indian  Mutiny  in  providing 
educational  literature,  while  in  China  the  S.D.K.  was 
formed  with  the  aim  of  enlightening  the  leaders  of 
China.  Although  the  effect  of  this  propaganda  had 
produced  the  Reform  Movement,  the  R.T.S.  could  not 
be  persuaded  to  help  ;  their  Constitution  made  it 
impossible.  They  made  considerable  grants  of  paper 
for  the  C.L.S.  work  in  India,  but  since  the  S.D.K. 
worked  on  different  lines,  we  wished  for  some  other 
form  of  help,  especially  as  we  published  Christian  works 
as  well  as  books  on  general  knowledge. 

9.  Other  Forms  of  Work. 

Besides  the  usual  deputation  work,  speaking  on  behalf 
of  the  B.M.S.  and  S.D.K.  in  all  parts  of  the  United 
Kingdom,  a  work  in  which  my  wife  bore  a  large  share,  I 
corresponded  on  the  unique  crisis  in  China's  awakening 


292  FORTY-FIVE   YEARS   IN   CHINA 

with  such  men  as  the  Archbishop  of  Canterbury,  Lord 
Curzon,  Mr.  Gladstone,  and  Mr.  Stead.  I  also  prepared 
a  pamphlet  on  the  federation  of  the  nations,  which  I 
sent  to  the  Peace  Societies  and  to  various  prominent 
statesmen.  During  the  summer  of  1897  I  wrote  a 
booklet    for   the    use   of   young    statesmen. 

In  returning  to  China  in  the  early  autumn  via  the 
United  States,  I  distributed  some  copies  of  this  booklet 
among  the  influential  men  I  met.  Ten  years  later,  when 
a  number  of  leaders  in  the  Laymen's  Movement  visited 
China,  one  of  them,  a  banker  from  Washington,  D.C., 
said  to  me  in  Shanghai  :  "  You  once  gave  me  a  little 
booklet.  I  have  carried  it  with  me  ever  since.  Here 
it  is,"  and  he  drew  out  of  his  pocket  a  well-worn 
copy   of   my   pamphlet   for   young   statesmen. 

10.   Visit  to   Canada. 

Having  seen  a  Chinese  and  Enghsh  dictionary 
published  by  the  Rev.  D.  MacGillivray,  M.A.,  of 
the  Canadian  Presbyterian  Mission,  I  had  laid  before 
him,  when  he  was  passing  through  Shanghai  in 
1896,  the  possibility  of  increasing  his  influence 
manifold  if  he  joined  the  S.D.K.  We  had  talked 
and  prayed  over  the  matter,  and  finally  he  had 
said  that  if  his  Board  consented  to  his  being  set  apart 
for  the  work,  he  would  be  glad  to  join  us.  Now, 
coming  back  from  England  via  America  in  1897,  I 
went  to  Toronto,  where  I  interviewed  the  secretary  of 
the  Presbyterian  Board,  and  told  him  of  the  great  field 
which  lay  open  to  Christian  literature.  He  invited  half 
a  dozen  secretaries  of  other  Boards  to  meet  me  at  his 
office  next  day,  when  1  could  urge  the  importance  of 
literary  work  upon  them.  They  came  and  I  spoke  for 
about  an  hour,  appealing  to  them  to  set  apart  men  for 
this  work.  Dr.  Mackay  consented  to  set  Mr.  MacGillivray 
apart,  for  he  realized  that  this  important  line  of  work 
had  been  too  much  neglected.  1  came  away  feeling  that 
that  one  hour  in  Toronto  had  been  most  profitably 
spent.  Our  new  recruit  was  a  most  efficient  worker 
from  the  beginning. 


CHAPTER    XV 
THE   BOXER   MOVEMENT 

I.  Visit  to  Peking. 

In  the  summer  of  1899  the  S.D.K.  Committee  asked 
me  to  go  to  Peking  in  order  that  the  Government 
might  be  induced  to  approve  of  an  educational  scheme 
for  China,  and  allow  the  S.D.K.  to  help  in  translation. 
Sir  Robert  Hart,  President  of  our  Society,  was  very 
pessimistic  about  the  attitude  of  the  Government,  saying 
that  it  vetoed  any  suggestions  of  Reform.  He  advised 
me  not  to  approach  the  high  Government  officials  on 
the  matter,  as  it  would  be  useless,  but  I  saw  a  few 
officials  privately,  and  I  had  correspondence  with  Jung 
Lu  and  Kang  Yi,  and  an  interview  with  Li  Hung-chang, 
who  was  then  in  Tientsin.  One  of  his  assistants  at 
this  time  was  Chow  Fu,  with  whom  I  had  much  inter- 
course later  when  he  was  Governor  of  Shantung  and 
Viceroy  at  Nanking.  His  was  a  most  lovable  personality, 
and  he  was  the  first  great  official  to  take  a  deep  interest 
in  Christianity. 

In  the  winter  of  1899  Li  Hung-chang  was  appointed 
Viceroy  of  Canton.  On  his  way  there  he  stopped  at 
Woosung  and  sent  to  the  French  Consul-General  whom  I 
had  known  in  Tientsin  and  to  me,  to  meet  him  at 
Woosung.  I  never  saw  the  Viceroy  in  such  high  spirits 
in  all  my  life.  He  was  just  like  a  boy  tired  of  school, 
going  home  for  a  holiday.  I  sometimes  suspected  after- 
wards that  he  must  have  known  something  of  the  coming 
Boxer    troubles,    and    was    glad    to    be    away    from    it    as 

far  as  possible. 

393 


294  FORTY-FIVE   YEARS   IN   CHINA 

2.   Spread   of  Anti-foreign   Feeling. 

Coincident  with  the  spread  of  Reform  ideas  advocating 
friendly  co-operation  with  foreigners,  the  reactionary 
party  had  advocated  more  and  more  the  traditional  anti- 
foreign  policy.  This  had  been  strengthened  by  the  action 
of  the  German  Government,  after  the  murder  of  two 
German  missionaries  in  Shantung,  in  seizing  the  port 
of  Kiaochao  in  1898.  This  severe  punishment  of  China 
for  neglecting  to  protect  foreigners  had  only  intensified 
the  anti -foreign  feeling  of  the  Conservative  Party,  and 
some  of  the  princes  and  highest  statesmen  in  the  land 
raised  money  to  organize  militia  in  different  provinces. 
In  Shantung  there  existed  "  The  Great  Sword  Society," 
founded  by  ignorant  fanatics  who  asserted  that  they  could 
render  themselves  invulnerable  to  swords  and  bullets  by 
reciting  incantations  and  performing  mystic  exercises. 
The  object  of  this  and  similar  bands  was  to  make  a 
general  slaughter  of  all   foreigners. 

3.  Militia  Raised  by  Kang  Yi. 

The  most  prominent  official  connection  with  the  move- 
ment was  Kang  Yi,  whom  I  had  known  in  Shansi  and 
in  1896  in  Peking.  He  was  now  given  authority  by 
the  Empress-Dowager  to  raise  money  to  organize  trained 
bands  of  militia,  an  undertaking  which  earned  for  him 
the  name  of  "The  Great  Extortioner."  In  1899  he 
was  passing  through  Shanghai,  and  sent  a  mutual  friend, 
w^ho  had  been  Provincial  Treasurer  in  Shansi,  to  call 
on  me  and  appoint  a  time  when  I  could  visit  him. 
In  my  interview  with  Kang  Yi,  during  which  the  treasurer 
was  present,  I  was  soundly  rated  for  having  taken  Kang 
Yu-wei's  part  the  previous  year.  He  declared  that  Kang's 
anxiety  to  help  China  was  merely  a  cloak  hiding  his 
ambition  for  power,  and  that  he  was  not  a  genuine 
Reformer.  I  replied  that  here  was  a  great  opportunity 
for  him  (Kang  Yi)  to  lead  in  true  Reform.  At  this 
my  friend  the  treasurer  kicked  me  under  the  table,  as 
he  knew  that  no  Chinese  would  propose  such  a  bigoted 
Conservative  as  Kang  Yi. 


THE   BOXER   MOVEMENT  295 

4.   Appeal  to  Ecumenical  Conference   in 
New   York. 

The  danger  threatened  by  these  trained  Boxer  bands 
was  plainly  recognized  by  Dr.  Arthur  Smith  and  other 
missionaries  in  Chihli  and  Shantung.  A  warning 
regarding  the  gravity  of  the  situation  was  written  by 
Dr.  Smith,  but  was  disregarded  by  the  Legations  in 
Peking.  Early  in  1900  I  had  left  China  to  attend  a 
World-wide  Missionary  Conference  in  New  York,  where 
I  was  to  advocate  the  pressing  need  and  great  value 
of  literary  work  in  connection  with  Mission  work  in 
China.  I  was  so  strongly  convinced  of  the  danger 
threatening  missionaries  and  all  foreigners  that  I  carried 
Dr.  Smith's  report  with  me  to  present  to  the  Executive 
Committee  of  the  Conference.  I  pointed  out  to  the 
Committee  that  the  fierce  attitude  of  the  Government 
against  Reformers,  and  against  all  native  Christians  and 
missionaries  because  they  also  advocated  Reform,  might 
culminate  in  a  movement  that  would  bring  all  Mission 
work  to  an  end,  and  endanger  the  lives  of  all  foreigners. 
I  pleaded  that  the  various  Mission  Boards  should  take 
united  action  in  order  to  avert  the  threatened  danger. 
The  Committee  decided,  however,  that  such  action 
bordered  on  the  sphere  of  politics,  and  that  as  it  was 
a  political  danger  that  threatened,  they  could  not  in 
accordance    with   their   tradition    "  interfere    in   politics." 

5.  Appeal  to  Twentieth  Century  Club. 

I  had  a  different  reception  in  Boston,  where  a  friend 
of  mine  invited  me  to  explain  the  situation  in  China  to 
the  Twentieth  Century  Club.  This  I  did  on  May  5th. 
When  they  realized  the  seriousness  of  the  situation,  and 
saw  not  only  Christian  Missions  imperilled,  but  the  best 
interests  of  China  and  the  peace  of  the  world,  they 
decided  that  I  should  lay  the  matter  at  once  before  the 
Government  in  Washington,  and  I  was  given  letters  of 
introduction  that  would  open  every  door  from  the  House 
of  Representatives  to  the  White  House. 


296  FORTY-FIVE   YEARS   IN   CHINA 

6.  Appeals  to  Washington  and   New  York. 

Next  day  I  started  for  Washington.  To  prevent  any 
misunderstanding  by  mere  verbal  communication  I 
printed  my  statement  and  request.  Dr.  William  Ashmore, 
of  the  American  Baptist  Mission,  Swatow,  joined  me 
in  the  petition  to  the  Government,  but  was  not  able 
to  go  with  me  to  Washington.  I  laid  it  first  of  all 
before  Mr.  John  Hay,  Secretary  of  Foreign  Affairs,  who 
was  most  sympathetic.  He  told  me,  however,  that  the 
Government  could  take  no  step  without  the  support  of 
two-thirds  of  the  Senate.  I  then  called  on  Senator 
Hoar,  President  of  the  Senate,  who  was  also  most 
interested.  When  I  related  what  Mr.  Hay  had  said, 
he  replied  that  the  Senate  could  not  act  without  the 
support  of  the  leading  cities.  New  York  being  the  most 
influential.  I  next  went  to  see  Morris  K.  Jessop, 
chairman  of  the  Chamber  of  Commerce,  and  spent  an 
evening  with  him.  After  I  had  stated  the  result  of  my 
visit  to  Washington,  he  replied  that  he  feared  the 
Government  would  not  act  on  mere  opinion,  however 
strong.  Nothing  short  of  a  massacre  would  justify  it 
in   immediate  action. 

This  was  the  final  blow  to  my  hopes  of  inducing 
America  to  avert  the  Boxer  catastrophe.  Within  a 
fortnight  of  my  interviews  with  the  United  States  Govern- 
ment, telegrams  arrived  announcing  that  massacres  had 
already    been    commenced    by   the    Boxers. 

7.   Return  to   China. 

I  then  returned  to  China.  Within  ten  minutes  after 
landing  in  Yokohama,  I  read  in  a  newspaper  extra 
details  of  the  narrow  escape  of  all  the  missionaries  in 
Shantung.  Alarmed  by  the  news  that  the  danger 
commenced  in  Chihli  was  spreading  to  other  provinces, 
I  was  at  my  wits'  end  what  to  do  next,  as  there  was 
no  communication  between  Peking  and  the  outside  world. 
God  gave  me  a  thought.  I  telegraphed  from  Kobe  to 
the  British  Consul-General  in  Shanghai,  asking  that  Lord 
Salisbury  should  announce  to  the  Viceroys  and  Governors 


THE   BOXER  MOVEMENT  297 

of  China  that  the  British  Government  would  hold  them 
personally  responsible  for  the  safety  of  British  subjects, 
I  sent  the  wire  anonymously,  that  it  might  go  entirely 
on  its  own  merits.  When  J  arrived  in  Shanghai,  the 
morning  paper  contained  a  Reuter's  telegram  to  the 
effect  that  Lord  Salisbury  had  informed  the  Chinese 
Minister  in  London  that  the  British  Government  would 
hold  the  Viceroys  and  Governors  personally  responsible 
for  the  safety  of  British  subjects  in  their  respective 
provinces. 

8.  Telegrams  to  Shensi  and  Shansi. 

For  the  safety  of  the  B.M.S.  missionaries  I  immediately 
sent  a  wire  to  the  missionaries  in  Sian  fu,  the  capital 
of  Shensi,  and  T'ai-yuan  fu,  capital  of  Shansi,  repeating 
Reuter's  telegram,  knowing  that  all  news  telegraphed 
to  foreigners  at  that  time  would  be  shown  to  the 
Governors  of  the  respective  provinces.  The  telegram 
was  too  late  for  T'ai-yuan  fu,  arriving"  some  hours  after 
the  massacre  of  the  Protestant  and  Roman  Catholic 
missionaries  by  the  infamous  Governor  Yii  Hsien.  It 
was  an  overwhelming  shock  to  me  to  hear  the  terrible 
news,  and  to  think  that  such  a  tragedy  should  have 
taken  place  in  the  city  where  for  so  many  years  I 
had  worked  on  such  friendly  terms  with  officials  and 
gentry. 

No  lives  were  lost  in  Shensi,  where  my  telegram 
was  duly  received.  The  Governor  was  Tuan  Fang,  a 
Manchu  official,  afterwards  Viceroy  of  Nanking  and  of 
Szechuen,  who  was  afterwards  assassinated  at  the 
beginning  of  the  Revolution.  He  provided  soldiers  to 
escort  the  missionaries  safely  out  of  the  province  to 
Hankow. 

9.  Chow  Fu's  Action. 

The  story  of  the  protection  of  foreigners  in  Szechuen 
is  of  great  interest.  The  Provinicial  Treasurer  at  that 
time  was  Chow  Fu,  whom  I  had  met  as  Li  Hung-chang's 
assistant  in  Tientsin  the  previous  year.  He  had  been 
greatly  interested  in  the  S.D.K.  books.  When  news 
came    that    foreigners    were    being    massacred    in    other 


298  FORTY-FIVE   YEARS   IN   CHINA 

parts  of  China,  many  of  the  officials  advised  the  Governor, 
a  Manchu  named  Kwei  Chun,  to  have  the  foreigners 
sent  into  three  cities,  Chengtu,  Chungking,  and  Suifu, 
and  massacre  them.  Chow  Fu,  alone  amongst  them 
all,  denounced  the  scheme,  saying,  "  What  good  will 
the  massacre  of  a  few  foreigners  be  to  you,  when  you 
will  set  the  whole  world  against  you?  "  So  strong  was 
his  influence  that  he  persuaded  the  Governor  to  protect 
the  foreigners.  Edict  after  edict  came  from  Peking 
to  destroy  the  foreigners,  but  the  Governor  put  each 
as  it  arrived  into  his  high  boot  and  denied  its  existence 
to  the  anti -foreign  officials.  Thus  the  foreigners  in 
Szechuen  owed  their  lives  to   Chow  Fu. 

lo.  Interviews  with  Prince  Ching  and  Li 

HUNG-CHANG. 

In  1 90 1,  although  I  had  taken  a  leading  part  in 
the  Reform  Movement,  which  finally  compelled  the 
Government  to  fly  for  refuge  to  Shensi,  I  was  invited  by 
Prince  Ch'ing  and  Li  Hung-chang,  who  had  been 
appointed  Peace  Plenipotentiaries,  to  aid  in  the  settle- 
ment of  indemnities  for  the  massacres  in  the  Shansi 
province.  The  result  of  our  deliberations  was  the 
founding  of  the  Shansi  University,  the  history  of  which 
is  given  in  the  next  chapter.  My  last  interview  with 
the  great  Viceroy  was  on  a  Sunday.  He  had  four 
or  five  assistants  and  secretaries  with  him,  one  of  whom 
was  Chow  Fu,  who  afterwards  became  Viceroy  of 
Nanking,  and  later  of  Canton.  Usually  Li  Hung-chang 
avoided  discussion  of  religion  with  me,  but  on  this  day 
he  talked  of  nothing  else,  and  his  questions  appeared 
to  me  afterwards  to  have  been  deliberately  put  in  order 
that  his  assistants  might  hear  my  own  answers  in  regard 
to  the  object  and  methods  of  Christian  Missions. 

He  was  certainly  the  greatest  man  I  ever  met  among 
the  many  Chinese  officials.  Physically  he  was  taller 
than  most,  intellectually  he  towered  above  them  all,  and 
could  see  over  their  heads  to  the  far  beyond. 


CHAPTER     XVI 
THE    SHANSI   UNIVERSITY 

I.   Reasons   for   its  Founding. 

In  1 90 1  I  was  invited  by  the  Plenipotentiaries  Prince 
Ch'ing  and  Li  Hung-chang  to  assist  in  the  settlement  of 
the  Shansi  troubles,  arising  out  of  the  massacre  of  mis- 
sionaries and  thousands  of  native  Christians  by  the  Boxers 
in  1900.  The  Chinese  were  afraid  that  the  Allies  might 
march  troops  to  Shansi  and  execute  some  of  the  officials 
and  Boxer  leaders  as  they  had  done  in  Pao-ting  fu. 
As  I  had  lived  many  years  in  Shansi,  where  I  had 
become  well  known  to  the  officials  and  people  through 
distribution  of  famine  relief,  I  was  chosen  to  confer  with 
the  Plenipotentiaries.  I  said  that  the  missionary  societies 
would  not  sell  the  lives  of  their  missionaries  for  money, 
but  that,  as  a  great  crime  had  been  committed  which 
no  Government  could  overlook,  I  proposed  that  a  fine  of 
half  a  million  taels  should  be  imposed  upon  the  province, 
to  be  paid  in  yearly  instalments  of  fifty  thousand  taels,  and 
that  the  money  should  be  devoted  to  the  establishment  in 
T'ai-yuan  fu  of  a  University  on  Western  lines,  the  aim 
being  to  remove  the  ignorance  and  superstition  that  had 
been  the  main  cause  of  the  massacre  of  the  foreigners. 
This  proposal  commended  itself  to  the  Plenipotentiaries, 
and  they  placed  the  appointment  of  the  professors,  the 
arranging  of  the  curriculum,  and  the  administration  of  the 
funds  of  the  University  in  my  hands  for  ten  years,  after 
which  period  the  control  would  pass  into  the  hands  of 
the  provincial  Government. 

2.  Attempts  to  Start  a  Rival  University  Foiled. 

Shortly  after  these  proposals  were  ratified,  edicts  were 
issued  commanding  the  establishment  of  provincial  univer- 

299 


300  FORTY-FIVE   YEARS   IN   CHINA 

sities  throughout  the  Empire.  When  I  visited  T'ai-yuan 
fu  in  the  spring  of  1902  with  Mr.  Moir  Duncan,  M.A., 
whom  I  had  appointed  to  be  principal,  and  with 
Mr.  Nystrom,  C.F.,  B.Sc,  an  intelligent  young  Swede 
who  became  Professor  of  Chemistry,  and  remained 
throughout  its  history  in  connection  with  the  University, 
we  found  that  strong  measures  were  being  made  to 
establish  a  Government  University  similar  to  the  one  I  had 
authority  to  found.  It  was  to  be  placed  under  the  control 
of  an  anti-foreign  official  who  had  done  his  best  to 
oppose  the  Western  University.  He  had  once  travelled  in 
Europe,  and  had  written  a  book  on  his  journey,  attri- 
buting false  motives  to  everything  good  that  he  had 
seen.  Seeing  that  it  was  impracticable  to  have  two  rival 
institutions  in  the  same  city,  I  negotiated  with  the 
Governor,  Ts'en  Ch'hsiian,  to  amalgamate  them  into  one 
Imperial  University.  After  prolonged  deliberations  this 
was  agreed,  and  regulations  were  drawn  up  that  the 
University  should  include  two  departments — a  Chinese 
department,  to  be  controlled  by  Chinese  and  to  have 
purely  Chinese  studies,  and  a  Western  department,  under 
my  control  for  ten  years,  to  have  purely  Western  subjects. 

3.  I  Oppose  Regulations  Forbidding  Teaching  of 
Christianity. 

During  the  negotiations  at  the  founding  of  the 
University,  the  Governor  sent  a  Taotai  to  see  me  with 
evident  instructions  to  obtain  my  proimise  that  a  regulation 
be  inserted  in  the  Constitution  that  Christianity  never 
should  be  taught  in  the  University.  Not  for  a  moment 
could  I  agree  to  such  a  proposal,  as  my  doing  so  would,  I 
felt,  justify  the  massacre  of  the  missionaries  and  native 
Christians  by  admitting  that  what  they  had  taught  and 
believed  in  was  not  worthy  of  the  University.  But  the 
Taotai  was  an  exceedingly  clever  talker,  and  he  argued 
his  point  for  no  less  than  eight  hours  on  end.  Having 
become  physically  very  tired  and  mentally  rather  irritable, 
I  was  afraid  I  might  say  something  I  would  afterwards 
regret,  so  I  retired  into  a  side  room,  where  I  prayed 
for  guidance.     Within  two  minutes  I  was  back  again,  with 


GOVERNOR  TS'EN   CH'UN-HSUAN   AND   HIS  TWO   SONS. 


To  face  p.  300. 


THE   SHANSI   UNIVERSITY  301 

my  course  quite  clear.  I  told  the  Taotai  that  the  ciuestion 
of  religious  liberty  had  been  agreed  to  by  China  in 
several  treaties  with  foreign  nations.  If  the  Governor 
had  now  received  special  authority  to  supersede  all 
these  treaties  and  abrogate  them,  we  might  then 
discuss  such  a  regulation  forbidding  Christianity.  If 
he  had  not  this  power,  there  was  no  need  of  our  wasting 
further  time  over  the  suggestion,  as  I  would  never  agree 
t!0  it.  The  subject  was  at  once  dropped,  and  never 
raised  again.  Though  Christian  theology  was  never 
formally  taught  in  the  University,  Mr.  Duncan  was  fully 
satisfied  with  the  opportunities  he  had,  in  his  lectures  on 
civilization,  of  showing  the  beneficial  results  of  Chris- 
tianity. Every  Sunday,  also,  the  Principal  and  Faculty 
held  a  service  in  the  University  premises,  and  the 
missionaries  were  at  liberty  to  work  among  the  students. 

4.  Friendly  Attitude  of  Governor. 
In  the  meantime,  Governor  Ts'en  lent  the  best  building 
in  the  city  for  the  temporary  use  of  the  University  until 
suitable  premises  were  built.  The  day  he  handed  over  the 
keeping  of  the  temporary  building  to  me,  he  received  news 
that  the  official  who  had  control  of  the  Chinese  depart- 
ment, and  who  had  headed  the  opposition  to  the  Western 
University,  had  been  busy  writing  to  Peking  undermining 
the  influence  of  Governor  Ts'en,  and  charging  him  with 
having  yielded  everything  to  me,  ignoring  the  rights  of 
the  Chinese.  This  news  put  the  Governor  into  a  towering 
rage.  He  instantly  ordered  this  official  to  hand  over 
everything  belonging  to  his  Chinese  University  and  to 
leave  T'ai-yuan  fu  that  very  day.  If  he  remained  a 
day  longer,  he  did  so  at  his  peril.  Such  was  the 
Governor's  wrath  that  no  one  dared  interfere  in  the 
matter.  That  same  afternoon  the  Governor  invited  the 
leading  officials  and  gentry  to  a  farewell  dinner  to  me. 
At  its  close  I  rose  and  thanked  the  Governor  for  his 
kindness  and  congratulated  the  officials  on  having  in  him 
a  Governor  who  had  initiated  two  undertakings  greater 
than  anything  that  had  ever  been  accomplished  before  in 
Shansi — the  founding  of  a  modern  University  so  as  to  be 


302  FORTY-FIVE   YEARS   IN   CHINA 

abreast  of  other  nations  in  education,  and  the  commenc- 
ing of  a  railway  in  Shansi,  from  which  the  people  would 
derive  immense  benefit.  Here  I  was  interrupted  by  the 
Governor,  who  rose  to  his  feet  and  cried  :  "  No,  no,  these 
two  projects  are  both  due  to  you.  If  you  had  not  been 
here  they  would  not  have  been  carried  out." 

When  the  regulations  regarding  the  new  University 
had  been  signed,  they  were  sent  to  Peking,  where  they 
were  sealed  with  the  Imperial  seal.  A  whole  number 
of  the  official  paper,  the  Peking  Gazette,  was  devoted 
to  them  and  distributed  to  officials  throughout  the 
Empire. 

5.  Courses  of  Education  at  the  University. 

In  September  1902  plans  were  agreed  upon  and  a 
contract  signed  for  the  erection  of  suitable  buildings, 
comprising  an  Assembly  Hall,  Library,  Gymnasium, 
Museum,  and  Guest-rooms,  together  with  class-rooms  for 
Engineering  and  Drawing,  Chemistry  and  Physics,  with 
laboratories,  Medicine,  Mathematics,  Law,  and  Literature. 
A  preparatory  course  of  studies  for  three  years  was 
arranged,  during  which  the  students  wore  to  be  taught 
the  subjects  necessary  for  the  matriculation  examination 
of  the  London  University.  This  course  was  to  be  followed 
by  a  graduation  course  of  three  years,  during  which  the 
students  would  study  any  of  the  following  subjects  : 
Law,  Science,  Medicine,  Engineering,  Language,  with 
Literature.  Any  student  attaining  a  sufficiently  high 
standard  in  his  final  examination  was  to  be  granted  a 
Government  degree.  The  students  were  all  to  be  Chinese 
graduates,  either  Sui-ts'ai  (B.A.)  or  Chu-ren  (M.A.), 
and  were  to  be  selected  by  the  Literary  Chancellor  or 
Governor  from  the  graduates  of  the  province.  Each 
student  was  to  receive  from  two  taels  to  eight  taels  per 
mensem  towards  his  personal  expenses,  but  this  was  paid 
from  the  Provincial  Treasury  and  not  from  the  funds  of 
the  Western  Department.  I  stipulated  that  all  teaching 
was  to  be  given  in  the  Chinese  language  in  order  to 
ensure  a  maximum  of  efficiency  in  a  minimum  of 
time. 


THE   SHANSI   UNIVERSITY  303 


6.  Translation  Department  in  Shanghai. 

As  regards  textbooks,  I  established  a  translation 
department  in  Shanghai,  consisting  of  ten  Chinese 
translators  and  writers  and  one  Japanese  translator  under 
the  management  of  a  foreign  superintendent,  the  Rev. 
John  Darroch.  Amongst  the  books  prepared  in  this 
department   for   the    Shansi    University    were  : — 

Tables  of  Chinese  Chronology,  from  the  Chow  dynasty ;  "  The 
Wonderful  Century,"  by  Russell  Wallace,  illustrated  ;  "  Myers' 
Universal  History,"  numerous  maps  and  illustrations  ;  "  History 
of  Commerce  in  Europe,"  by  H.  de  B.  Gibbins,  Litt.D.  ;  two 
volumes  on  Arithmetic,  Tokyo  Normal  School  Textbook  Series  ; 
two  volumes  on  Algebra ;  books  on  Botany,  Mineralogy, 
Zoology,  Physiology,  Physics,  Pedagogy,  with  numerous 
illustrations ;  the  "  Twentieth  Century  Atlas  of  Popular 
Astronomy,"  with  coloured  frontispiece  and  twenty-two  beauti- 
ful large  steel  plates  ;  "  Physical  Geography,"  with  twenty-four 
large  and  beautifully  coloured  maps ;  a  thousand  biographies, 
sketched  from  Chambers's  "  Dictionary  of  Biography";  "The 
Story  of  the  World,"  by  M.  B.  Synge. 

The  Translation  Department  continued  for  six  years, 
after  which  it  was  closed  for  lack  of  funds,  but  it  did 
valuable  service. 


7.  Promise  of  Yuan  Shih-kai  to  Help  Translation 
OF  Textbooks. 

On  my  way  down  after  founding  the  University,  I 
called  upon  Yuan  Shih-kai,  then  the  Viceroy  of  Chihli, 
in  Pao-ting  fu.  I  told  him  that  as  one  of  my  chief 
difficulties  in  connection  with  the  University  was  the 
lack  of  proper  textbooks  in  Chinese,  I  intended  to  devote 
ten  thousand  taels  per  annum  of  the  Shansi  University 
funds  towards  the  preparation  of  textbooks.  He  replied 
that  it  was  an  excellent  idea,  and  that  he  was  willing  to 
contribute  ten  thousand  taels  and  would  get  the  Minister 
of  Education  in  Peking,  Chang  Pao-hsi,  to  contribute 
a  similar  sum.  He  was  also  sure  that  the  Governors  of 
Shantung  and  Honan  would  each  give  ten  thousand  taels. 


304  FORTY-FIVE   YEARS   IN   CHINA 

and  in  this  way  textbooks  would  soon  be  provided.      But 
this  noble  promise  has  never  yet  been  realized. 

8.  Edicts  to  Establish  Universities  in  Each 

Province. 

The  idea  of  establishing  a  University  for  modern 
education,  for  the  permanent  settlement  of  trouble  between 
China  and  the  West,  so  commended  itself  to  the  Pleni- 
potentiaries that  within  three  months  an  edict  was  issued 
commanding  every  provincial  capital  in  the  Empire  to 
establish  a  modern  University.  Curiously  enough,  the 
average  sum  set  apart  for  the  commencement  of  these 
universities  was  the  same  as  that  which  I  had  asked  for 
Shansi.  This  scheme  for  a  time  appeared  most 
promising  for  China.  A  wave  of  enthusiasm  for  Western 
learning  spread  all  over  the  Empire,  and  many  temples 
were  converted  into  schools  and  colleges.  But  it  was 
more  than  could  be  expected  that  the  greatest  compact 
nation  on  the  face  of  the  earth  should  suddenly  exchange 
its  ancient  educational  systems  of  thousands  of  years' 
standing  for  a  modern  foreign  one  without  much  difficulty. 
Though  hundreds  of  officials  had  paid  hurried  visits 
to  Japan,  and  thirty  thousand  students  had  been  sent  over 
to  acquire  in  brief  courses  the  arts  of  education  and 
government  there,  yet  no  Chinese  statesman  had  ever 
been  sent  abroad  to  study  the  educational  systems  of 
the  leading  nations  of  the  West. 

9.  Chang  Chih-tung's  Scheme  of  Education. 

1902. 

It  was  difficult,  therefore,  to  find  a  man  with  sufficient 
knowledge  to  master  the  new  situation  and  efficiently  deal 

.  with   it. 

The  best  man  the  Chinese  Government  could  think  of 
was  Chang  Chih-tung,  who  was  set  apart  for  a  year  to 

j  draw  up  a  complete  system  of  new  education.  His  scheme 
was  embodied  in  a  voluminous  report  which  gave  the 
authorized  basis  of  modern  education  in  China.  His 
system  had  two  faults.  First,  he  did  not  utilize  the 
students   of   the   old   school   as   candidates   for  the  new. 


PRINCIPAL  MOIR   DUNCAN,    M.A.,    LL.D. 


To  face  p.  305. 


THE  SHANSI  UNIVERSITY  305 

and  thus  practically  discarded  the  best  material  in  the 
Empire.  Secondly,  he  sought  to  build  up  modern  educa- 
tion from  the  very  foundation  in  courses  which  would 
take  at  least  sixteen  years  before  the  students  were  fully 
trained. 

The  last  interview  I  had  with  him  was  in  Peking  in 
1909,  a  few  months  before  his  death.  His  system  of 
education  for  China  was  modelled  entirely  on  that  of 
Japan.  I  urged  on  him  the  necessity  of  crowning  his 
educational  scheme  by  providing  suitable  textbooks  to 
be  used  in  every  province.  He  replied  that  it  was  most 
difficult.  1  suggested  that  since  there  were  so  many 
students  returned  from  completing  their  education  abroad, 
those  who  were  highest  in  their  respective  subjects  should 
be  set  apart  to  prepare  textbooks.  In  this  way  there 
would  be  uniformity  and   efficiency. 

At  this  he  shook  his  head,  saying  that  though  these 
students  might  be  very  well  advanced  in  foreign  lan- 
guages, they  did  not  know  Chinese  well  enough  to  write 
books  in  proper  style.  He  then  asked  me  to  prepare  them 
and  he  would  pay  all  the  necessary  expenses.  As  I  was 
leaving,  seeing  he  was  very  frail,  I  begged  of  him  not 
to  think  of  attempting  to  see  me  out,  but  he  insisted  on 
coming  with  me  through  the  various  courtyards,  and  his 
last  words  were  :  "I  am  in  earnest  about  getting  those 
textbooks  written.  You  see  to  that,  and  I  will  give 
you  the  money."  But  1  pointed  to  my  grey  hairs  and 
replied,  "  Younger  men  must  take  up  the  work,"  and  so 
we  parted. 

10.  Principal  Moir  Duncan. 

The  first  Principal  of  the  Western  Department  of  the 
Shansi  University  was  the  Rev.  Moir  Duncan,  Al.A., 
Glasgow.  Much  of  the  success  of  the  University  was  due  to 
his  great  enthusiasm,  his  inexhaustible  energy,  his  great 
knowledge  of  Chinese  men  and  letters,  and  his  wise  and 
practical  conduct  of  affairs.  He  won  the  respect  of  all 
as    a    fearless,    honest,    and    capable    administrator. 

In  1905  the  University  of  Glasgow  conferred  on  him 
the  degree  of  LL.D.     His  illness  in    1906  terminated  in 

20 


306  FORTY-FIVE   YEARS   IN   CHINA 

his  death  in  August,  at  the  early  age  of  forty- five.  He 
was  mourned  by  all  who  knew  him,  both  foreign  and 
Chinese.  The  Chinese  Government  conferred  posthu- 
mous honours  on  him  by  raising  his  status  to  the  first 
rank  red  button.  Professor  Louis  R.  O.  Bevan,  M.A., 
LL.B.,  was  appointed  Acting  Principal  till  a  suitable  suc- 
cessor to  Dr.  Duncan  was  found,  and  it  was  during  his 
term  of  oflfice,  1906-7,  that  the  largest  number  of  students 
of  any  year,  339,  attended  the  University.  That  same 
year  also  twenty- five  students  were  sent  from  Shansi 
University  to  study  railway  and  mining  engineering  in 
England.  Twenty-three  of  these  students  went  at  the 
expense  of  the  Provincial  Government.  This  step  was 
a  most  hopeful  sign,  showing  that  it  was  realized  at 
last  tliat  the  future  welfare  of  Shansi  depended  on  the 
development  of  its  natural  resources  and  on  the 
improvement   of   means    of   transport. 

II.  Visit  to  T'ai-yuan  fu  in  1907. 

In  the  autumn  of  1907  the  Rev.  W'.  E.  Soothill,  formerly 
of  Wenchow,  was  appointed  Principal  of  the  University. 
Amongst  the  gentry  there  was  a  Hanlin  who  was  exceed- 
ingly friendly,  and  showed  the  keenest  appreciation  of 
the  work  done  by  the  University.  When  I  visited  Shansi 
in  1908,  he  was  President  of  the  Provincial  Assembly. 
One  day  he  summoned  all  the  schools  to  assemble  in 
the  square  before  the  city  museum.  The  pupils  of  each 
school,  dressed  in  their  various  uniforms,  came  marching 
into  the  square  to  the  music  of  drum  and  fife  bands. 
He  and  another  ofiicial  took  me  to  the  second  story  of 
the  museum,  whence  we  could  look  down  upon  the 
assembled  schools.  It  was  a  pretty  sight  to  see  them 
in  their  different  coloured  costumes.  The  President  then 
delivered  an  address,  in  the  course  of  which  he  mentioned 
that  some  two  thousand  pupils  were  gathered  there,  some 
from  military,  some  from  agricultural,  and  some  from 
normal  schools  without  the  University,  for  all  the  chief 
teachers  in  them  had  at  one  time  or  other  passed  through 
the  University  ;  and  not  only  in  T'ai-yuan  fu,  but  in  all 
other  cities  of  Shansi,  similar  schools  were  being  opened, 


THE   SHANSI   UNIVERSITY  307 

owing  to  the  stimulus  given  to  education  by  the 
Uiiiversity.  That  same  year,  also,  I  had  the  joy  of  seeing 
that  the  railway  I  had  encouraged  in  1902  had  been 
completed,  and  that  a  regular  train  service  was  running 
between  T'ai-yuan  fu  and  Peking, 

12.  Resignation  of  Chancellorship. 

In  November  1910  I  received  a  pressing  invitation 
from  the  Governor  of  Shansi  and  the  Provincial  Assembly 
to  visit  the  University  on  my  return  from  Europe,  before 
proceeding  to  Shanghai.  On  arrival  at  T'ai-yuan  fu,  I 
was  given  by  the  authorities  and  the  President  of  the 
Provincial  Assembly  a  very  hearty  reception  at  a  public 
meeting,  during  which  they  spoke  in  the  highest  terms 
of  the  immense  service  rendered  to  the  whole  province 
by  the  University.  Being  convinced  that  modern  educa- 
tion had  taken  such  a  deep  root  in  the  province  that 
it  would  never  be  eradicated,  I  wished  to  show  the 
officials  and  students  that  I  had  no  desire  to  retain  the 
control  of  the  University  till  the  last  minute,  when  the 
ten  years  would  be  over  in  the  spring  of  191 1,  so  I 
determined  to  hand  over  the  control  to  the  Chinese 
authorities  there  and  then.  This  was  done  on  Novem- 
ber 13,  1 9 10,  when  the  Chinese  authorities  promised  to 
take  over  the  contracts  of  the  Professors  and  continue  to 
enlarge  the  University.  At  the  time  I  gave  over  my 
control  the  foreign  professors  numbered  eight,  assisted 
by  fourteen  Chinese  professors  and  teachers. 

13.  Governor  Ts'en   Ch'un-hsuan. 

The  first  Governor  of  Shansi  during  my  control  of  the 
University  was  Ts'en  Ch'un-hsiian,  a  native  of  Kwang'si. 
He  had  met  the  Empress  -  Dowager  and  Emperor 
in  their  flight  from  Peking  in  1900,  accompanying  them 
to  Sian  fu.  In  recognition  of  his  services  he  was  made 
Governor  of  Shansi.  He  afterwards  became  one  of  the 
most  remarkable  statesmen  in  the  Empire  on  account  of 
his  ability  in  keeping  order,  his  integrity,  and  his  courage. 
It  was  reported  that  his  enemies  made  no  objection  to  his 


308  FORTY-FIVE   YEARS  IN  CHliNA 

promotions  to  various  difficult  posts,  as  they  hoped  his 
failure  in  difficulties  would  cause  his  downfall.  He  was 
successful  in  preventing  any  punitive  expedition  marching 
to  T'ai-yuan  fu.  Soon  after,  the  province  of  Szechuen  was 
in  such  disorder  that  a  great  rebellion  was  expected. 
He  was  promoted  to  be  Viceroy  there,  and  within  three 
months  of  his  arrival  the  whole  province  was  in 
perfect  peace. 

He  was  next  sent  to  Canton.  The  two  provinces  of 
Kwangtung  and  Kwangsi  had  been  in  a  state  bordering 
on  rebellion  for  several  years,  and  successive  officials 
failed  to  reduce  them  to  order.  Even  after  Ts'en's  arrival 
it  was  no  easy  matter  to  put  the  rebellion  down.  He 
then  memorialized  the  Throne  that  he  could  not  restore 
order  if  the  Peking  Government  appointed  a  Governor  to 
Kwangsi  responsible  to  the  Government  only,  and  not  to 
him.  Upon  this  the  Government  granted  him  full  power 
and  peace  was  soon  restored  in  both  provinces. 

His  methods  were  those  of  the  most  noted  military 
men  of  China.  Wherever  there  was  the  slightest  dis- 
turbance, he  ordered  the  immediate  execution  of  the 
ringleaders,  and  no  official  dared  disobey,  for  if  he 
did  he  would  suffer  the  same  fate.  Thus  we  might  regard 
him  as  the  ablest  pacificator  of  China  in  modern  days. 
His  courage  was  shown  during  a  later  visit  to  Peking, 
when  he  did  not  hesitate  to  denounce  leading  officials 
right  and  left  for  corruption.  He  was  the  only  man 
among  the  whole  of  the  mandarinate  of  China  who  dared 
to  impeach  the  highest  authority  in  Peking,  Prince  Ch'ing, 
succeeding  in  bringing  him  to  his  knees  before  the 
Empress-Dowager.  When,  however,  the  Peking  authori- 
ties combined  to  shelve  his  impeachments,  he  declined 
to  serve  the  Government  any  longer,  and  retired  into 
private  life  for  a  time  in  Shanghai. 

During  the  rebellion  of  Sun  Yat-sen  and  Hwang  Hsing 
against  President  Yuan  Shih-kai  in  19 13,  Ts'en  Ch'un- 
hsiian  was  persuaded  to  side  with  the  rebels  against  the 
Republican  Government.  On  their  defeat  he  vanished 
with  them  into  obscurity. 


THE   SHANSI   UNIVERSITY  309 

14.  Other  Governors  of  Shansi. 

Chao  Erh-hsun  was  a  Chinese  Bannerman,  and 
succeeded  Ts'en  as  Governor  of  Shansi.  Mr.  Moir 
Duncan,  the  Principal,  found  him  exceedingly  interested 
in  everything  connected  with  the  University.  Later,  when 
he  was  Viceroy  of  Wuchang,  on  the  eve  of  his  departure 
to  be  Viceroy  of  Szechuen,  I  called  on  him.  Amongst 
other  topics  of  discussion,  I  expressed  regret  that  China 
at  present  had  no  Viceroys  and  Governors,  and  was 
therefore  in  utmost  peril  from  lack  of  government. 
He  was  startled  by  the  way  I  expressed  myself,  and 
asked  me  to  explain.  I  then  pointed  out  that  since 
the  Viceroys  and  Governors  were  changed  so  frequently, 
often  in  a  few  months,  it  was  impossible  for  any  official, 
however  great  his  ability,  to  study  the  conditions  of 
his  province  thoroughly,  or  have  time  to  carry  out 
Reform  measures,  so  that  the  general  effect  was  as  if 
there   were   no   rulers   of   the   provinces. 

Another  Governor  of  Shansi  was  a  Manchu,  named 
En,  who  showed  his  goodwill  to  the  University  by 
persuading  the  Provincial  Treasurer  to  grant  ten  thousand 
taels  towards  procuring  further  apparatus.  The  last 
Governor  during  my  Chancellorship  was  Ting  Pao-ch'uen, 
who  was  the  most  friendly  of  all.  Besides  his  great 
interest  in  the  University,  he  made  great  efforts  to 
establish  normal  schools  for  the  training  of  teachers 
throughout   the  province. 

In  concluding  the  account  of  my  relation  to  the 
Chinese  authorities  in  connection  with  the  University, 
it  is  due  to  them  that  I  should  state  that  they  never 
interfered  with  my  arrangements.  On  the  day  the 
annual  instalment  of  fifty  thousand  taels  fell  due,  the 
Governors  always  paid  the  money  punctually.  When 
I  handed  the  contract  of  the  University  to  the  authorities, 
the  general  rejoicing  and  gratitude  was  beyond  all 
expectation,  and  finally,  to  show  their  appreciation  of 
the  splendid  services  rendered  by  Mr.  Moir  Duncan,  they, 
erected  to  his  memory  a  stone  monument  in  the  University 
grounds,  on  which  was  inscribed  a  poem   in  his  praise. 


310  FORTY-FIVE   YEARS   IN   CHINA 

15.  Effect  of  Revolution  on  University. 

When  the  Revolution  of  1 9 1 1  took  place,  Governor 
Ting's  successor  was  assassinated,  and  a  large  part  of 
the  city  was  destroyed,  but  the  revolutionaries  left  the 
University  buildings  untouched.  The  treasurer  of  the 
University,  a  Christian  named  Kao,  formerly  Mrs. 
Richard's  writer,  pasted  up  all  the  doors  of  the  various 
class-rooms  and  buildings  with  visiting  cards  of  the 
professors,  and  the  rioters  were  afraid  to  disturb  any 
possession  of  foreigners.  For  a  long  time  after  the 
Revolution  matters  were  in  a  state  of  chaos,  and  as 
there  were  no  spare  funds,  all  the  professors  and  students 
had  to  disperse. 


CHAPTER    XVII 
CHANGING   CHINA 

I.  Empress-Dowager  Issues  Emperor's  Reform 

Edicts. 

Just  as  China's  humiliating  defeat  by  Japan  resulted 
in  the  Reform  Movement  of  1895-8,  so  her  disgrace  in 
1900  led  to  a  fresh  vigour  on  the  part  of  the  Reformers. 
A  student  society  was  organized  in  Shanghai.  Educa- 
tional and  literary  societies  were  formed  in  Peking  and 
other  cities.  A  new  impetus  was  given  to  education 
in  Shanghai,  in  schools  on  Western  lines  opened  by 
Cantonese  and  Ningpo- Chinese.  Everywhere  was  seen 
the   desire   for   Reform   in   educational   matters. 

This  spirit  was  even  apparent  in  the  Government. 
In  August  1 90 1  the  Empress-Dowager  issued  an  edict 
ordering  Reform  in  the  examinations,  introducing  essays 
on  modem  subjects,  political  economy.  Western  laws 
and  Constitutions.  The  old  trials  of  skill  with  bows 
and  arrows  and  stone  weights,  etc.,  that  had  been  thought 
necessary  to  obtain  military  degrees,  were  now  abolished 
for  ever.  This  edict  was  followed  in  September 
by  a  second,  commanding  all  colleges  in  the  Empire 
to  be  changed  into  schools  of  Western  learning,  and 
that  each  provincial  capital  should  establish  a  University. 
A  third  edict,  a  few  days  later,  decreed  that  Viceroys 
and  Governors  should  all  follow  the  examples  set  by 
Viceroys  Liu  Kun-yi  and  Chang  Chih-tung,  and  send 
abroad  young  men  of  ability  to  study  special  branches 
of  learning.  The  edicts  had  first  been  issued  by  the 
Emperor  in  i  898. 

Another  edict  of  the  Emperor  urging  Manchu  princes 
to  travel  abroad,  which  had  created  great  consternation 
at   the    Court   when   issued,   was   carried   out  in   spite   of 

311 


312  FORTY-FIVE   YEARS  IN  CHINA 

the  Manchus  by  force  of  circumstances.  Prince  Chun, 
brother  of  the  Emperor  (and  later  Regent,  after  the 
deaths  of  the  Emperor  and  Empress -Dowager),  was  sent 
to  Germany  on  a  mission  of  apology  to  the  Kaiser 
for  the  murder  in  1900  of  the  German  Minister.  As 
no  Manchu  Prince  had  hitherto  been  allowed  to  travel 
more  than  forty  li  out  of  Peking,  or  to  sleep  outside  the 
city,  it  was  an  extraordinary  event,  even  though  his 
mission  was  one  of  apology.  The  following  year  Prince 
Ch'ing's  son,  Tsai  Chen,  was  sent  to  England  to  attend 
the  Coronation  of  King  Edward  VII,  and  subsequent 
years  saw  Manchu  princes  sent  to  Japan,  to  the  St. 
Louis  Exhibition  in  America,  to  Europe,  and  America 
on    special    commissions. 

In  igo2  the  Anti-footbinding  Society  was  greatly 
encouraged  by  an  edict  from  the  Empress-Dowager 
exhorting  the  Chinese  to  discontinue  the  painful  practice 
of    binding    their    women's    feet. 

2.  Visit  to  the  North. 

(a)    Chow  Fu. 

In  the  spring  and  summer  of  1902  I  spent  four 
months  in  the  north,  most  of  the  time  in  T'ai-yuan  fu, 
in  connection  with  the  establishment  of  the  Shansi 
University.  On  my  way  back  I  visited  Yuan-Shih  kai, 
then  Viceroy  of  Chihli,  in  Pao-ting  fu,  hoping  to  secure 
his  help  in  furnishing  money  for  the  translation  of  text- 
books. The  Provincial  Treasurer  under  him  was  Chow 
Fu.  Owing  to  his  skill  in  settling  all  affairs  with 
foreigners  in  Chihli  after  the  Boxer  troubles,  he  was 
soon  rewarded  by  rapid  promotion  to  the  Governorship 
of  Shantung.  He  was  not  only  a  pioneer  in  introducing 
telegraphs  and  railways,  but  he  was  the  first  great 
official  in  modern  times  to  show  a  deep  interest  in 
Christianity.  At  this  time  he  was  on  the  eve  of  departure 
for  his  new  post  in  Shantung.  He  had  not  been  satisfied 
with  the  books  that  missionaries  were  circulating,  as 
they  did  not  make  their  standpoint  clear  to  the  official 
mind.  He  told  me  that  he  had  collected  all  the  Christian 
books   and   tracts   he   could   lay   his   hands   on,   and   had 


CHANGING  CHINA  313 

thrown  them  all  into  a  box.  Some  time  previously,  one 
of  his  officials,  a  very  literary  man,  lost  both  his  parents, 
and  as  he  could  not  hold  office  during  his  period  of 
mourning,  Chow  Fu  thought  he  might  employ  his  time 
studying  the  boxful  of  Christian  books.  He  had  there- 
fore sent  him  the  box,  asking  him,  when  he  had  finished 
reading  the  contents,  to  write  a  treatise  on  Christianity 
that   would  satisfy  the  official   mind. 

When  I  next  saw  Chow  Fu  in  Peking,  the  official 
had  completed  his  treatise,  and  the  Governor  asked  me 
to  read  it  through  and  see  if  it  would  be  suitable  for 
publication.  I  found  that  the  writer,  instigated  by  the 
Chinese  Government,  had  inserted  accounts  of  various 
lawsuits  with  native  Christians  that  had  not  brought 
credit  on  the  Church.  I  pointed  out  to  Chow  Fu  that  to 
write  a  book  purporting  to  explain  the  essence  of  Christi- 
anity, quoting  against  it"  lawsuits  with  native  Christians, 
was  as  absurd  as  to  write  a  book  explaining  Confucianism, 
and  to  bring  into  it  the  various  lawsuits  brought  by 
Confucianists  into  the  Yamens.  The  book  was  therefore 
never  published. 

(b)  Interview  nith  Jung  Lu. 

At  this  time  Jung  Lu  sent  asking  me  to  call  on  him. 
The  interview  lasted  over  an  hour,  during  which  he 
put  several  questions  on  various  important  matters.  He 
was  more  like  Li  Hung-chang  in  ability,  clearness  of 
mind,  and  grasp  of  subject  than  any  other  Chinese 
statesman  I  ever  met.  At  the  close  of  the  interview 
he  asked  if  I  would  be  willing  to  see  Lu  Ch'uan-lin. 
I  suppose  he  put  the  question  in  that  form  as  the  latter 
had  the  reputation  of  being  the  most  anti-foreign  member 
of  the  Grand  Council.  I  replied  that  I  would  call 
on  him  if  he  really  desired  to  see  me.  Jung  Lu  then 
said,  "  To-morrow  at  five  o'clock  he  will  be  at  his  home 
expecting   you." 

(c)    Interview   with   Lu   Ch'uan-Un. 

Lu  Chu'an-lin  was  a  native  of  Chihli.  In  my  inter- 
view   with    him,    arranged    for    by    Jung    Lu,    I    ^sked 


314  FORTY-FIVE  YEARS  IN   CHINA 

whether  he  considered  China's  state  to  be  better  or 
worse  than  it  had  been   sixty  years  before. 

"  Do  not  ask  such  a  question,"  he  repUed.  "  It  is 
far  worse,  and  every  year  it  grows  worse  than  the  last." 
That  was  the  trap  I  had  dehberately  laid  for  him,  into 
which  he  easily  fell.  I  then  said  :  "  Is  it  wise,  under 
the  circumstances,  to  persevere  in  following  the  old  policy 
that  has  proved  so  disastrous  to  the  Empire?" 

Seeing  himself  caught,  he  showed  skill  in  extricating 
himself  by  asking,  "  If  you  were  in  my  place,  what 
would  you  do  ?  " 

This  gave  me  the  opportunity  I  desired,  and  I 
mentioned  several  reforms  which  I  thought  indispensable. 
Before  I  left,  he  asked  my  opinion  on  the  currency 
question.  I  replied  that  he  should  ask  the  opinion  of 
bankers  who  were  experts.  But  as  he  persisted  in 
asking  my  opinion,  I  then  said  :  "  If  all  nations  use  the 
gold  standard,  and  if  China  continues  to  use  the  silver, 
the  probability  is  that  China  will  suffer,  whereas  if  China 
adopted  the  same  standard  as  other  nations  it  would  gain 
the  same  as  other  nations." 

Several  years  passed  before  I  next  saw  him.  Whilst 
in  Peking  in  igio  he  called  on  me,  and  told  me  that 
when  he  was  President  of  the  Board  of  Revenue  he  had 
commenced  to  make  arrangements  for  changing  to  a 
gold  standard,  but  before  he  had  finished  with  his 
negotiations  another  man  was  appointed  to  the  post, 
and  nothing  further  was  done.  By  thus  delaying  China 
has   lost  enormously. 

Lu  Ch'uan-lin  was  a  sturdy  old  gentleman,  and  main- 
tained his  views  with  great  vigour,  but  unfortunately, 
like  a  fellow -provincial  of  his,  he  allowed  his  prejudices 
to  mislead  his  judgment. 

(d)   Prince  Su. 

Another  interesting  statesman  I  met  at  this  time  was 
Prince  Su,  who  gave  me  a  very  interesting  account  of 
the  way  in  which  his  palace  was  used  for  Christian 
refugees. 

During   the   siege   of   Peking,    the   foreigners   of  every 


CHANGING  CHINA  315 

nationality  made  their  headquarters  round  the  British 
Legation.  Directly  opposite  the  Legation,  across  the 
stream  and  street,  was  Prince  Su's  palace.  When  all 
Protestant  churches  and  premises  were  burnt,  Mr.  James 
(formerly  of  the  Baptist  Mission  and  then  Professor  at 
the  Peking  University)  went  to  Prince  Su  and  suggested 
that  it  would  be  a  great  kindness  if  he  would  remove  his 
family  elsewhere  and  allow  his  large  premises  to  be 
occupied  by  the  Chinese  Christians.  Fearing  the  Boxers, 
the  Prince  warily  replied  that  if  the  Christians  entered 
by  the  front  gate  he  and  his  family  would  escape  by 
the  back,  giving  the  impression  that  they  were  being 
driven  out,  so  that  no  blame  would  fall  on  him.  This 
arrangement  was  carried  out.  It  was  on  returning  from 
settling  the  Christians  in  the  Prince's  quarters  that  Mr. 
James  was  seized  by  the  Boxers,  and  afterwards  beheaded. 
Prince  Su,  in  his  capacity  of  superintendent  of  police 
and  streets,  set  about  cleaning  and  improving  the  streets 
of  Peking,  and  was  a  vigorous  Reformer,  His  third 
and    fifth    sisters    both   taught    in    girls'    schools. 

3.  Appointed  by  Imperial  Edict  Representative 
OF  Protestant  Missions. 

At  this  time  the  Wai  Wu  Pu  were  conferring  with 
Bishop  Favier  regarding  regulations  for  a  better  under- 
standing between  the  Chinese  Government  and  Roman 
Catholic  Missions. 

Already  in  March  1899  the  official  status  of  their 
missionaries  had  been  recognized  by  an  Imperial  Rescript. 
When  my  official  friends  brought  up  the  subject  of 
the  regulations  in  regard  to  Roman  Catholic  Missions,  I 
pointed  out  that  Protestant  Missions  should  have  a  like 
recognition,  and  reminded  them  of  the  Mission  Memorial, 
drawn  up  by  six  Protestant  missionaries  and  presented 
by  Dr.  Wherry  and  myself  in  1896.  I  was  asked  by 
the  Wai  Wu  Pu  if  I  would  act  in  connection  with 
regulations  for  Protestant  Missions,  and  replied  that  there 
was  a  committee  appointed  by  the  Missionary  Conference 
to  represent  Protestant  Missions,  and  that  we  should 
be  glad  to  act  together  and  draw  up  suitable  regulations. 


316  FORTY-FIVE  YEARS  IN  CHINA 

Nevertheless,  on  July  3rd,  appeared  the  following 
Imperial  Edict  : — 

"  We  have  received  a  Memorial  from  the  Ministry  of 
Foreign  Affairs,  stating  that  foreigners  from  the  West  are 
divided  into  two  religions,  namely,  Roman  Catholicism  and 
Protestantism.  The  said  Ministry  speaks  in  the  highest 
terms  of  recommendation  of  Dr.  Timothy  Richard,  who 
is  at  present  in  Peking,  and  is  a  representative  of  the 
Protestant  Missions.  We  know  Dr.  Richard  to  be  a 
man  of  great  learning,  high  attainments,  and  strict  sense 
of  justice,  qualities  we  deeply  admire  and  commend. 
We  therefore  hereby  command  the  said  Ministry  of 
Foreign  Affairs  to  take  the  scheme  the  said  Ministry 
has  lately  drawn  up,  with  the  object  of  making  Christians 
and  non-converts  to  live  harmoniously  with  each  other 
throughout  the  Empire,  to  Dr.  Richard,  and  consult 
with  him  on  the  matter,  with  the  sincere  hope  that,  with 
the  valuable  assistance  of  that  gentleman,  the  object 
in  view  may  be  arrived  at  and  the  masses  be  able  to 
live   at   peace   with  their  neighbours,   the   Christians." 

Later  I  was  informed  by  the  Wai  Wu  Pu  offfcials 
that  the  Empress -Dowager  wished  to  see  me  before  I 
left.  I  returned  word  that  if  Her  Imperial  Majesty  would 
put  in  practice  the  many  paper  Reforms  promised  by 
her  I  would  be  the  first  to  congratulate  her.  I  then 
added  that  I  was  leaving  on  the  morrow  for  Shanghai, 
hoping  that  this  reply  would  be  a  better  stimulus  for 
Reform   than  any  audience   for   which   I   cared   nothing. 

4.  Bishop  Favier. 

On  July  1 4th  I  called  in  company  with  Chow  Fu 
on  Bishop  Favier,  who  was  first  for  submitting  his 
regulations  to  the  Pope  before  communicating  with  the 
Wai  Wu  Pu.  I  suggested  that  in  drawing  up  our  new 
joint  regulations  some  attempts  towards  reconciliation 
of  Romanism  and  Protestantism  might  be  made.  The 
Bishop  approved  of  this  idea.  There  were  present  at 
the  interview  his  assistant,  Bishop  of  Chang  Tung-fu, 
the  Bishop  of  Moukden,  and  the  new  Bishop  of  Shensi. 

Unfortunately,    Bishop    Favier    died    before    we    could 


CHANGING   CHINA  317 

further  consult.  I  later  drew  up  seven  rules  which  were 
approved  of  by  Chow  Fu,  who  had  then  become  Viceroy 
of  Nanking,  and  submitted  them  in  person,  when  I  was 
on  furlough  in  1905,  to  the  Roman  Catholic  Archbishop 
of   Westminster.      They    were   the    following  :— 

1.  That  if  any  missionary  should  circulate  literature  showing  disre- 
spect to  the  religions  of  China,  he  should  be  removed. 

2.  That  if  any  mandarin  promoted  the  circulation  of  literature 
derogatory  to  the  Christian  religion,  he  should  be  removed, 

3.  That  if  any  missionary  interfered  with  the  lawsuits  of  Chinese 
subjects,  he  should  be  removed. 

4.  That  if  any  mandarin  made  any  difference  in  the  treatment  of 
Christians  and  non-Christians,  he  was  to  be  removed. 

5.  That  the  head  of  each  Mission  should  send  an  annual  report  to 
the  Governor  of  his  province,  stating  the  number  of  chapels,  schools 
and  colleges,  hospitals,  literary  work  or  philanthropic  work  that 
his  Mission  was  engaged  in. 

6.  That  the  Governor  should  annually  invite  three  of  the  leaders  of 
Missions  in  his  province  to  confer  with  him  as  to  how  their  work  could 
be  rendered  more  useful. 

7.  That  the  Governor  or  Viceroy  should  report  on  Missions  once 
every  three  years  to  the  Central  Government,  so  that  it  may  be  well 
informed  and  not  liable  to  be  misled  by  imperfect  reports  circulated 
by  the  ignorant  or  mischievous. 

On  hearing  these  proposed  rules,  the  Archbishop  said  : 
"  If  these  regulations  had  been  observed,  we  should 
not  have  had  to  mourn  over  the  massacre  of  our 
missionaries.  If  you  will  let  me  have  a  copy,  I  will 
forward  it  to  the  Pope  myself,  and  recommend  that 
they   be  adopted   for   the   future   in    China." 

5.  Public  School  for  Chinese. 

On  returning  to  Shanghai,  among  the  activities,  apart 
from  S.D.K.  work,  that  engaged  my  attention  was  the 
establishment  of  a  Public  School  for  Chinese  in  the 
International    Settlement. 

In  1899  Mr.  J.  O.  P.  Bland,  the  Secretary  of  the 
Municipal  Council,  had  informed  me  that  if  a  scheme  for 
the  education  of  Chinese  were  laid  before  the  Council,  he 
thought  the  members  were  likely  to  approve  it.  But 
before  the  matter  could  proceed  further,  rumours  of  anti- 


318  FORTY-FIVE   YEARS   IN   CHINA 

foreign  riots  which  culminated  in  the  Boxer  rising  of 
1900  put  an  end  to  the  scheme  for  the  time  being. 

After  the  upheavals  in  local  administration  caused  by 
the  Boxer  troubles  had  subsided,  and  affairs  were  taking 
their  normal  course  again,  a  scheme  was  drawn  up  by 
three  members  of  the  S.D.K.,  Dr.  Hawks  Pott,  Dr. 
Ferguson,  and  myself,  and  presented  for  consideration 
to  the  Council.  We  received  a  reply  that  the  members 
were  satisfied  with  the  scheme,  and  that  the  Council 
would  give  land  and  annual  grants  of  a  thousand  taels 
in  aid,  on  condition  that  the  Chinese  themselves  would 
raise  thirty  thousand  taels. 

In  1 90 1  1  invited  three  of  the  leading  Chinese 
merchants  of  Shanghai,  Mr.  Chu  and  Ch'en  Fai-t'ing, 
Director  and  Manager  of  the  China  Merchants  Steamship 
Company,  and  Mr.  T'ong  Kid-sun,  Compradore  of  Jardine, 
Matheson  &  Co.,  to  meet  my  two  colleagues,  and  told 
them  of  the  Council's  proposals  and  condition.  Before 
we  rose  from  the  table  the  three  Chinese  gentlemen 
declared  that  they  themselves  would  be  responsible  for 
the  thirty  thousand  taels.  Some  difficulty  was  experienced 
in  purchasing  land,  but  towards  the  end  of  1902  a 
suitable  site  was  given  by  the  Council  and  in  another 
year  handsome  buildings  were  put  up  with  accoimmodation 
for  four  hundred  pupils  and  houses  for  foreign  masters. 
A  school  committee,  consisting  of  three  foreigners  and 
two  Chinese,  was  formed  for  the  management  of  the 
institution.  I  was  chairman  of  this  committee  till  the 
school  was  in  working  order,  and  was  asked  to  engage 
masters  from  home  for  it.  The  school  building  is  an 
ornament  to  the  Settlement  and  the  institution  is  one  of 
the    most   popular   in    Shanghai    to-day. 

6.   Visit  to  Japan. 

(a)  Prince  Konoye. 

In  May  1903  I  paid  a  short  visit  to  Japan  for  the 
purpose  of  securing  suitable  textbooks  for  the  Shansi 
University,  and  to  engage  a  Japanese  and  Chinese  scholar 
for  their  translation.      I  had  interviews  with  Baron  Kiku- 


CHANGING   CHINA  319 

chi,  the  Minister  of  Education,  the  President  of  the 
Imperial  University,  the  head  of  the  Textbook  Department, 
and  many  other  educational  leaders,  who  showed  me 
every  attention. 

The  most  interesting  man  I  met  was  Prince  Konoye, 
then  President  of  the  House  of  Peers.  He  miglht  be 
described  as  the  Bismarck  of  Japan.  Educated  at  Bonn, 
where  Kaiser  Wilhelm  II  as  a  student  must  have  left  a 
forecast  of  his  future  policy  carefully  preserved  by  the 
traditions  of  the  University,  Konoye  conceived  the  idea  of 
the  domination  of  Asia  over  the  world  by  the  Japanese 
leading  the  yellow  race.  When  the  Japanese  Government 
sent  him  to  China,  he  suggested  that  an  alliance  be  formed 
between  the  two  nations,  whose  aim  should  be  to  dictate 
the  policy  of  Asia  and  check  Western  aggression.  This 
scheme  was  approved  of  by  the  Wai  Wu  Pu,  who  recom- 
mended him  to  consult  with  Chang  Chih-tung  in 
Wuchang.  The  Viceroy,  on  hearing  the  scheme,  was 
delighted  beyond  measure,  as  he  had  long  wished  to 
have  his  "  revenge  "  on  the  West  for  the  humiliations 
inflicted  on  China  by  each  successive  war.  The  result 
of  Prince  Konoye's  visit  was  the  formation  of  an  East 
Asia  League  whose  rules  were  published  by  the  S.D.K. 
in  the  Wang  Kwoh  Kung  Pao.  This  was  the  beginning 
of  the  influence  of  Japan  on  China,  and  is  the  key 
to  her  policy  to-day. 

In  my  interview  with  Prince  Konoye  I  broached,  among 
other  questions,  the  subject  of  the  federation  of  nations 
and  the  use  of  armies  merely  as  forces  to  police  the 
world.  He  remarked  it  would  be  long  before  the  nations 
would  be  ready  for  such  a  step,  and  by  this  remark  clearly 
indicated  the  trend  of  his  thoughts. 

(b)  Prince  Tsai  Chen  at  Peeress  School. 

Amongst  the  various  educational  institutions  that  I 
visited  was  the  Peeress  School  in  Tokyo.  It  chanced 
that  I  was  taken  there  the  very  day  of  its  inspection 
by  Prince  Tsai  Chen,  who  had  been  sent  on  a  Commission 
to  Japan.  With  him  was  the  Minister  Na  T'ung  and 
about  ten  Chinese  officials.      I  was  greeted  very  heartily 


320  FORTY-FIVE   YEARS   IN   CHINA 

by  the  Prince  and  Na  T'ung,  both  of  whom  I  had 
met  in  Peking.  After  some  refreshments,  we  were  taken 
over  the  school.  We  watched  the  elder  girls  at  gym- 
nastics dancing  a  measure  similar  to  "  Sir  Roger  de 
Coverley,"  and  we  saw  them  at  their  painting  and 
embroidery,  and  heard  them  read.,  The  kindergarten 
children  performed  calisthenic  exercises  to  the  air  of 
"  John  Brown's  Body."  The  Lady  Principal  of  the  school 
was  Madame  Shimoda,  a  lady  of  great  charm,  ability,  and 
beautiful  manners,  who  had  been  educated  in  England. 
At  the  end  of  the  inspection  she  took  us  into  the  garden, 
and,  plucking  a  white  and  a  pink  rose,  she  fastened  them 
together  and  presented  them  to  the  Manchu  Prince.  He 
seemed  at  a  loss  to  know  whether  it  was  proper  for 
him  to  receive  them,  but  as  she  held  them  firmly  before 
him,  he  at  last  took  them.  His  stiffness  of  manner  seemed 
all  the  greater  in  contrast  with  her  extreme  grace. 

(c)   Japanese   Ambition. 

On  the  steamer  back  to  Shanghai  there  were  eleven 
Japanese  professors  going  to  Wuchang  by  invitation  of 
Viceroy  Chang  Chih-tung.  I  asked  one  of  them,  a 
Professor  of  Chemistry,  what  they  were  going  to  do. 
He  replied  that  they  were  going  to  teach  the  Chinese  the 
proper  place  of  Europeans.  "  Their  place  is  here,  under 
our  heel,"  he  cried  with  a  fierce  laugh,  and  he  stamped 
on  the  floor.  Later  in  the  evening  he  apologized  to  me 
for  his  insolence,  saying  that  he  had  been  drinking  too 
much  wine  and  had  been  talking  nonsense.  But  I  was 
convinced  that  he  had  revealed  the  true  sentiments  of  many 
of  his  race,  and  that  there  might  in  reality  be  a  Yellow 
Peril. 

7,.    Loss   OF  MY  Wife. 

In  March  1903  Mrs.  Richard,  who  had  been  suffering 
from  cancer,  went  to  the  Nursing  Home  in  Shanghai  to 
undergo  an  operation,  which  we  hoped  might  prolong 
her  life.  But  the  disease  had  already  advanced  too 
far,  and  on  July  loth  she  passed  away  to  her  high 
reward.      No  missionary  ever  had  a  more  devoted  wife. 

In  her  school  of  sixty  orphans  in  T'ai-yuan  fu,  with 


CHANGING  CHINA  321 

several  village  schools  in  the  country,  and  in  her  transla- 
tion of  the  biographies  of  eminent  Christian  leaders, 
she  showed  indefatigable  energy.  Upon  her  Japanese 
pupils  in  Peking,  three  of  whom  became  Christians,  and 
upon  the  Tseng  family  where  she  taught,  she  left  a 
deep  influence.  In  Tientsin  she  taught  a  class  of  Bible- 
women,  two  members  of  which,  after  her  winter's  careful 
training  and  preparation,  were  able  to  bring  a  hundred 
converts  each  into  the  Church.  During  our  furloughs 
at  home  she  rendered  most  acceptable  service  in  depu- 
tation work. 

Her  literary  ability  was  of  valuable  service  to  the 
S.D.K.  She  assisted  me  in  secretarial  work  and  in  editing 
the  Messenger  during  the  absence  of  Dr.  Edkins  on 
furlough.  She  was  co-editor,  with  Mrs.  Finch,  of 
"  Woman's  Work  in  the  Far  East,"  and  for  a  year  before 
her  death  she  edited  the  English  numbers  of  The  East 
of  Asia.  She  assisted  the  Women's  Union  Mission  in 
their  school  at  the  West  Gate,  and  was  chosen  director 
and  sole  foreign  inspector  of  the  High  Class  Girls'  School 
opened  by  the  Reformers  in  1898.  She  also  taught 
English  in  some  of  the  families  of  high  mandarins  up 
to  her  last  illness.  ,She  astonished  many  by  the  work 
she  accomplished,  "  ten  times  as  much  as  most  women." 

Many  were  the  expressions  of  sympathy  at  her  loss 
from  friends  far  and  near.  One  man  wrote  :  "  She 
was  one  of  the  few  ladies  in  the  world  who  by  her 
ability,  piety,  and  devotion  made  a  deep  impression  on 
me.  .  .  .  Her  literary  work  stands  for  ever  as  a  testimony 
to  her  love  for  the  Chinese,  but  more  important  than  her 
books  is  the  permanent  impression  and  the  grateful 
remembrance  which  she  leaves  in  the  minds  of  thousands 
with  whom  she  came  in  contact." 

8.  International  Red  Cross  Society  in  Manchuria. 

Early  in  1904  the  Russo-Japanese  War  broke  out. 
Although  the  real  combatants  were  Russians  and  Japanese, 
the  Chinese  in  Manchuria  where  the  war  took  place  were 
the  people  who  suffered  most.  They  could  not  call  their 
cities    their    own,    and    were    at    the    mercy    of   the    two 

21 


322  FORTY-FIVE   YEARS   IN   CHINA 

armies.  Hearing  of  their  great  distress,  a  Chinese  Tao- 
tai,  Shen  Tun -ho,  who  had  assisted  me  in  T'ai-yuan  fu  at 
the  founding  of  the  University,  called  on  me  to  ask  if 
I  would  join  him  in  raising  funds  to  help  the  Chinese 
sufferers  in  Manchuria.  I  gladly  gave  my  support  and  we 
formed  an  International  Red  Cross  Society,  in  which 
Chinese,  British,  American,  French,  German,  and  other 
nationalities  co-operated,  Mr.  Shen  acting  as  the  Chinese 
Secretary  and  I  as  the  Foreign  Secretary.  The  Chinese 
authorities  in  the  various  provinces  subscribed  most 
liberally. 

But  on  our  first  attempt  to  help  the  Chinese,  both 
the  Russian  and  Japanese  Ministers  refused  permission, 
though  asked  by  the  Chinese  Government  in  Peking, 
saying  that  they  had  their  respective  Red  Cross  Societies 
to  meet  all  emergencies.  We  were  therefore  in  a  most 
curious  position,  having  large  funds  in  our  hands,  but 
without  the  necessary  authority  to  distribute  them.  I 
therefore  wrote  to  a  friend  of  mine,  Mr.  Webster,  of  the 
Scotch  Presbyterian  Mission  in  Manchuria,  stating  how  the 
Chinese  Government  had  been  unsuccessful  in  obtaining 
permission  for  our  Society  to  help  the  Chinese  in  Man- 
churia, and  that  we  would  be  glad  if  he  could  suggest 
some  way  out  of  the  difficulty. 

Mr,  Webster  therefore  had  a  private  interview  with 
the  Russian  General,  whom  he  knew  personally,  and 
pleaded  that  it  was  a  pity  not  to  grant  relief  to  the 
poor  Chinese.  The  General  gave  him  permission  toi  dis- 
tribute relief  to  Chinese  within  the  territory  occupied 
by  the  Russians.  Mr.  Webster  then  wrote  to  the  Japanese 
General,  stating  that  since  the  Russian  General  had 
granted  permission  for  International  Red  Cross  work 
to  be  carried  on  among  the  Chinese,  he  (Mr.  Webster) 
felt  the  Japanese  would  not  be  behind  the  Russians  in 
pity  for  the  poor  Chinese  sufferers.  The  Japanese  General 
at  once  gave  his  permission.  Thus  what  the  authorities 
in  Peking  had  been  unable  to  do,  Mr.  Webster  unofficially 
accomplished  in  a  few  days. 

He  immediately  wired  down  for  funds,  which  were 
at  once  placed  to  his  credit  in  Newchwang.      Later  he 


CHANGING   CHINA  323 

wired  asking  for  ten  thousand  suits  of  wadded  garments 
to  be  ready  in  a  fortnight.  I  wired  back,  "  The 
ten  thousand  garments  will  be  forwarded  within  a  fort- 
night," The  amount  contributed  from  first  to  last  by 
Chinese  to  the  Red  Cross  funds  was  Tls.  451,483  (about 
£56,000),  the  Empress-Dowager  herself  contributing 
Tls.   100,000  (about  £12,500), 

9.  Visit  to  Peking. 
In  May  1904  I  paid  a  short  visit  to  Peking,  having 
interviews  (which  I  will  describe  later  in  my  chapter  on  the 
Peace  Movement)  with  Prince  Ch'ing,  Na  T'ung,  who  was 
then  President  both  of  the  Foreign  Office  and  the  Board  of 
Finance,  Sun  Chia-nai,  and  many  others.  The  L.M.S. 
deputation  (Messrs  Cousins  and  Bolton)  were  at  that  time 
in  Peking,  and  thinking  over  the  great  work  of  that 
Society,  I  resolved  to  draw  the  attention  of  Chinese 
statesmen  to  the  grand  services  rendered  to  China  by 
it  and  other  missionary  societies  and  sent  a  letter  to  that 
effect  to  the  Wai  Wu  Pu. 

10.  Religious  Conference  in  Shantung. 

The  next  experience  of  interest  was  a  unique  Con- 
ference held  in  Ch'ing-chow  fu,  Shantung,  at  the  end  of 
July.  Mr.  Jones  and  1  decided  that  the  time  had  fully 
come  when  we  might  invite  the  Chinese  leaders  of 
religious  sects  to  meet  the  Christians  in  conference,  and 
discuss  measures  for  the  revival  of  religion  in  China. 

The  Governor,  Chow  Fu,  sent  down  as  his  representa- 
tive from  Chi-nan  fu  the  ex- Chancellor  of  Education, 
who  was  a  seventy-third  lineal  descendant  of  Confucius, 
a  Prefect,  and  three  other  officials.  Over  thirty  officials 
were  present  in  full  robes  at  the  assemblies,  including  the 
Tartar  General  of  the  Manchu  troops,  and  about  a  hundred 
religious  leaders  besides  Christians.  Meetings  were  held 
for  four  days,  with  dinners  and  social  gatherings  in  the 
evening.  Many  non- Christian  gentry  took  part  in  the 
discussions.  One  of  them  advocated  that  missionaries, 
whose  chief  aim  was  to  teach  religion,  be  asked  to  prepare 
religious  textbooks   for  use   in   the   Government  schools. 


324  FORTY-FIVE   YEARS  IN  CHINA 

II.  Suggestions  of  Chow  Fu. 

A  few  days  after  the  close  of  the  Conference  I  paid 
a  short  visit  to  Chi-nan  fu  in  order  to  see  Chow  Fu. 
He  showed  me  every  kindness,  sending  an  official  to  show 
me  the  sights  of  the  capital  and  providing  chairs  to 
take  my  four  daughters  to  the  lake,  where  he  had  splendid 
barges  and  refreshments  ready  for  them.  He  then  invited 
the  highest  officials  of  the  province  to  meet  the  Protestant 
missionaries  at  a  banquet,  at  which  the  chief  subject 
of  conversation  was  religion.  Chow  Fu  began  by  teling 
how  he  had  built  the  first  telegraph  line  in  China  when 
in  Tientsin,  and  that  in  those  days  it  was  necessary  to 
have  wire  before  messages  could  be  sent  ;  but  now  he 
was  hearing  that  wireless  telegraphy  was  possible.  Chow 
Fu  then  remarked  that  what  China  needed  was  a  book 
explaining  God  and  His  relation  to  all  the  forces 
of  Nature,  that  it  would  be  a  grand  subject  for 
a  great  book. 

The  second  event  of  interest  was  a  dinner  in  the 
theatre  of  the  Imperial  Palace  in  honour  of  the  Empress- 
Dowager's  birthday.  I  was  seated  by  the  Governor's 
side  on  a  raised  platform  facing  the  stage.  On  the  west 
side  of  us  sat  the  Fan  T'ai  (Treasurer),  Nie  T'ai  (Judge), 
and  Grain  Commissioner  and  others,  while  on  the  east 
side  were  officials  and  professors  in  the  new  University, 
and  other  foreigners.  The  Roman  Catholic  Bishop  and 
his  assistant  were  seated  near  me.  At  intervals  during 
the  dinner,  when  the  noise  of  the  theatricals  became 
too  overpowering  for  conversation,  the  Governor  took 
me  into  a  quiet  back  court,  where  we  had  some  private 
talk.  It  was  during  one  of  these  quiet  intervals  that  he 
made  two  remarkable  suggestions  : — 

1.  That  I  should  write  in  his  name  to  all  the  Protestant  missionaries 

in  Shantung  desiring  them  to  elect  three  representatives 
to  confer  with  him  in  regard  to  Mission  work  in  the 
province. 

2.  That  I  should  procure  copies  of  the  New  Testament  for  him  to 

distribute  himself  to  his  subordinates,  as  they  would  then 
read  the  books  with  greater  attention. 


CHANGING  CHINA  325 

On  my  return  to  Shanghai  I  saw  the  agent  of  the 
Bible  Society,  and  was  given  two  hundred  specially  bound 
copies  for  presentation  to  Chow  Fu,  that  he  might  dis- 
tribute to  his  officials.  In  this  way  they  might  better 
understand  the  aim  of   Christianity. 

Chow  Fu  was  shortly  afterwards  appointed  Viceroy 
at  Nanking,  and  later  Viceroy  at  Canton.  Of  all  Chinese 
officials   he   was  the    most   lovable. 


CHAPTER    XVIII 
RELIGIOUS  MOVEMENTS  AND  CONFERENCES 

I.    Welsh    Revival. 

I  ARRIVED  in  England  early  in  1905,  The  B.M.S. 
Committee  arranged  that  instead  of  doing  the  usual 
deputation  work,  I  should  address  special  meetings  of 
influential  representatives  of  various  Churches  held  in 
central   places. 

During  the  great  revival  in  Wales  I  was  asked  to 
address  what  is  called  a  Cymanfa,  or  great  religious 
gathering,  in  the  open  air.  On  a  hillside  a  platform 
had  been  erected  for  the  speakers,  and  the  ground  in 
front  sloped  up  like  part  of  an  amphitheatre,  so  that 
the  thousands  who  sat  there  could  easily  hear  the 
speakers,  three  Welsh  missionaries — W.  R.  James  and 
Daniel  Jones  of  India,  and  myself.  James  distinguished 
himself  by  a  fervent  hwyl,  speaking  with  great  eloquence 
and  effect.  But  perhaps  the  most  striking  part  of  the 
meeting  was  that  taken  by  a  miner.  After  making 
a  few  quiet  remarks  which  profoundly  moved  the 
audience,  he  broke  into  song  which  still  more  stirred 
the  spiritual  feeling  of  the  hearers. 

2.   World-Baptist  Conference. 

About  this  time  several  movements  were  taking  place 
in  the  Christian  Church,  to  bring  together  all  the  separate 
units  of  each  section,  resulting  in  Pan-Congregational, 
Pan-Presbyierian,  and  later  Pan- Anglican  Conferences.  A 
World-Baptist  Conference,  consisting  of  representatives 
from  all  parts  of  the  world,  was  held  in  July  1905  in 
London,   and   I  was  elected   one  of  the  members   of  the 

326 


RELIGIOUS  MOVEMENTS  327 

General  Committee,  and  as  the  representative  of  China 
spoke  of  the  great  need  of  more  hterary  work  being 
done  to  guide  the  ruling  classes  of  China.  In  conse- 
quence of  my  address,  a  lady  offered  to  pay  the  salary 
of  a  Chinese  writer  to  help  in  translating  whatever 
literature  I  deemed  suitable,  and  from  that  day,  for  a 
period  of  ten  years,  she  never  failed  in  her  support 
through  the  B.M.S.  But  she  has  now  passed  to  her 
reward. 

My  chief  work  during  this  furlough  was  in  connection 
with  the  Peace  Movement,  and  is  described  in  the  chapter 
dealing    with    that    subject. 

3.  The  Chinese  Commissioners  at  Lambeth 
Palace. 

During  my  stay  in  England  the  Chinese  Government 
sent  a  Mission  of  five  Commissioners,  headed  by  Duke 
Tsai  Tse,  son  of  Prince  Ch'ing,  to  investigate  questions 
of  Western  civilization  in  Europe  and  America.  After 
their  arrival  in  England,  I  wrote  to  the  Archbishop 
of  Canterbury,  suggesting  that  it  would  be  a  graceful 
act  i;f  he,  as  head  of  the  Anglican  Church,  were  to 
invite  these  Chinese  Commissioners  to  Lambeth  Palace, 
and  ask  the  President  of  the  Free  Church  Council  also 
to  meet  them.  I  felt  that  the  Commissioners,  on  their 
return  to  China,  would  take  a  more  friendly  interest 
in  the  work  of  the  missionaries  after  having  met  with 
the  leaders  of  the  organizations  that  had  sent  them  out. 
My  suggestion  met  with  the  Archbishop's  approval,  and 
a  few  days  later,  as  I  had  known  the  Duke  in  China 
and  could  interpret,  I  received  an  invitation  to  the  palace 
on  the  occasion  of  his  visit.  A  few  Bishops  were  also 
present . 

Wc  met  together  in  the  library,  where  I  interpreted 
for  the  Archbishop.  Later,  he  took  his  guests  round 
the  palace,  showing  the  most  interesting  parts.  While 
the  Commissioners  were  writing  their  names  in  the 
Archbishop's  visitors'  book,  I  sat  by  Bishop  Gore,  of 
Birmingham.  In  reference  to  the  wise  step  of  the 
Chinese     Government     in     sending     the     Commissioners 


328  FORTY-FIVE   YEARS   IN  CHINA 

round  the  world  to  study  Western  civilization,  I  asked 
the  Bishop  if  he  did  not  think  that  those  interested 
in  Missions  in  China  should  send  a  Commission  of  five 
men  to  visit  China,  two  representing  the  Church  of 
England,  two  representing  the  Nonconformists,  and  one 
the  Church  of  Scotland,  in  order  to  study  Mission 
problems . 

"  Oh  no,"  he  cried.  "  I  am  afraid  that  is  altogether 
impracticable  ;     we    are    not    ready    for    that    yet." 

"  In  that  case,"  I  replied,  "  the  Chinese,  who  are 
a  practical  nation,  may  very  well  think  that  a  religion 
whose  parties  cannot  unite  in  such  a  small  measure  would 
not  do  for  China." 

But  there  were  others  who  differed  from  the  Bishop, 
and  believed  that  the  time  had  come  when  Churchmen 
and   Nonconformists   could  discuss  problems  together. 

4.    Dr.    J.   B.    Paton. 

Among  the  men  of  note  that  I  met  in  England,  none 
showed  more  intelligent  interest  in  the  development  of 
China  after  the  Boxer  rising  than  Dr.  Paton  of 
Nottingham.  I  was  introduced  to  him  by  Sir  Percy 
and  Lady  Bunting,  who  were  also  deeply  interested  in 
the  awakening  of  China,  and  I  frequently  met  him  at 
their    house    afterwards . 

In  addition  to  the  ordinary  view  of  the  need  of  the 
conversion  of  individual  souls  to  God,  he  held  as  the 
keynote  of  his  life  the  endeavour  to  establish  the 
Kingdom  of  God  upon  earth,  by  which  he  meant  the 
highest  development  of  all  races,  nations,  and  classes. 
He  founded  what  he  called  the  "  Inner  Mission  "  to 
induce  the  Christian  Church  to  become  interested  in 
the  material  and  intellectual  improvement  of  the  masses, 
as  well  as  in  their  spiritual  development.  For  this  end 
he  organized  the  National  Home  Reading  Union.  He 
was  the  inspiration  of  innumerable  institutions,  both  in 
England  and  abroad.  I  found  that  he  was  a  member  of 
the  International  Committee  of  Education  in  Paris.  He 
took  an  active  part  in  the  formation  of  savings  banks  in 
India   for   the   benefit   of  the   native   farmers. 


RELIGIOUS  MOVEMENTS  329 

5.  China  Missions  Emergency  Committee. 

When  I  discussed  the  situation  in  China  with  him, 
he  was  not  only  sympathetic  with  every  phase  of  progress, 
but  thought  of  a  plan  by  which  advantage  could  be 
at  once  taken  of  the  opportunity  in  China.  He,  Sir 
Percy  Bunting,  and  I  commenced  the  formation  of  the 
China  Missions  Emergency  Committee,  to  consist  of 
fourteen  members  from  the  Estabhshed  Church  and 
fourteen  from  the  Free  Churches,  in  order  to  plan  out 
work  on  broader  lines  than  already  attempted  by  any 
single  Missionary  Society.  Amongst  the  Churchmen  were 
the  Dean  of  Westminster  and  Bishop  Welldon.  From 
this  committee  a  Commission  of  five  members  was  sent 
out  in  1907  to  study  the  new  conditions  in  China  and 
report  fully  on  their  return.  These  were  Lord  William 
and  Lady  Florence  Cecil,  Sir  Alexander  Simpson, 
representing  the  medical  profession,  Professor  Alexander 
Macalister  of  Cambridge,  and  Mr.  Francis  Fox,  represent- 
ing the  Friends.  Their  visit  began  with  attendance  at 
the  Centenary  Conference  of  Missions  held  in  May  1907 
in  Shanghai. 

6.  Centenary  Conference  in  Shanghai. 

This  Conference  was  held  in  commemoration  of  the 
coming  to  China  of  the  first  Protestant  missionary, 
Robert  Morrison,  of  the  London  Missionary  Society.  It 
was  the  third  remarkable  missionary  gathering  in  China, 
the  first  being  in  1887  and  the  second  in  1890,  at 
which  representatives  of  every  Mission  at  work  in  the 
Empire  met  to  discuss  problems  as  though  they  were 
members  of  one  Society. 

At  the  Centenary  Conference  the  representatives  of 
the  China  Missions  Emergency  Committee,  though  they 
could  not  be  members  of  the  Conference,  were  invited 
to  be  present  to  hear  the  discussions.  I  was  one  of 
the  Vice-Presidents  of  the  Conference,  but  not  being 
well  at  the  time,  I  could  attend  only  a  few  of  the 
meetings. 

The    deputation,   after   travelling    in   different   parts   of 


330  FORTY-FIVE   YEARS   IN   CHINA 

the  Empire,  meeting  many  prominent  missionaries, 
and  studying  evangelistic,  educational,  literary,  and 
philanthropic  methods  of  work,  and  seeing  how  greatly 
an  organizing  department  was  needed  to  avoid  over- 
lapping of  work  and  superfluous  expenditure,  returned 
to    England    to    report. 

7.  Appeal  of  China  Emergency  Committee. 

The  result  of  their  report  was  an  appeal  to  the 
Christian  Church  for  £100,000,  drafted  by  Dr.  Boyd 
Carpenter,  Bishop  of  Ripon,  and  supported  by  the 
Archbishop  of  Canterbury,  the  Duke  of  Argyll,  Sir 
Robert  Hart,  and  the  Lord  Mayor  of  London.  Of  this, 
£40,000  was  to  be  given  for  normal  schools  and 
colleges,  £40,000  for  medical  colleges,  and  £20,000 
for  the  translation  of  literature  and  textbooks.  Besides 
the  raising  of  these  funds,  the  sympathy  of  the 
Universities  Mission  was  enlisted,  and  I  had  much 
correspondence  with  Dr.  Paton  and  leading  educationists 
in  America  and  England,  urging  that  these  two  great 
countries  should  each  send  out  ten  of  its  ablest  university 
men  to  aid  China  in  the  new  education.  Lord  William 
Cecil  later  began  to  appeal  for  the  Oxford  and 
Cambridge    University    in    Central    China. 

The  widespread  interest  awakened  in  China  by  the 
China  Missions  Emergency  Committee's  work  was  one 
of  the  impulses  which  gave  rise  to  the  American  Laymen's 
Movement,  which  also  sent  a  deputation  to  the  Centenary 
Conference  in  Shanghai.  These  deputations  were  im- 
portant factors  in  preparing  the  way  for  the  Edinburgh 
Conference  of    19 10. 

8.  Deputations  to  China. 

The  English  Baptist  Mission  sent  a  deputation  to  China 
in  the  autumn  of  1907,  consisting  of  Rev.  C.  E.  Wilson 
and  Rev.  W.  Y.  Fullerton.  They  visited  our  work  in 
Shantung,  Shensi,  and  Shansi,  and  I  met  them  in  Peking 
at  the  beginning  of  December.  There  I  introduced  them 
to  members  of  the  Wai  Wu  Pu,  describing  the  various 
services  rendered  by  the  Mission   in  different  provinces. 


RELIGIOUS  MOVEMENTS  331 

After    this,    the    deputation    visited    our    Mission    centres 
in  Shantung. 

The  following  year  the  Rehgious  Tract  Society  sent 
Rev.  A.  R.  Buckland  and  Sir  Charles  Tarring  to  China 
for  the  purpose  of  enlarging  the  scope  of  their  service. 
Thus  the  interest  of  the  Christian  Church  at  home  was 
greatly   stimulated  towards   China's   needs. 

9.  Dr.  John  R.   Mott. 

In  November  1901,  there  had  appeared  on  the 
missionary  horizon  of  China  a  star  of  the  first  magnitude 
in  the  person  of  John  R.  Mott.  He  called  a  Conference 
of  some  scores  of  leading  missionaries  from  the  north, 
south,  central,  and  west  of  China,  to  meet  him  in 
Nanking.  From  the  beginning  he  showed  large  concep- 
tions of  his  work.  I  travelled  on  the  same  steamer  and 
had  several  long  talks  with  him,  showing  that  the  most 
successful  Mission  method  I  had  found  was  in  working 
through  the  officials  and  scholars  in  provincial  capitals. 
1  strongly  urged  him  to  send  men  to  co-operate  in  literary 
work  with  the  S.D.K.  But  he  would  not  promise  to 
do  so.  At  the  Nanking  Conference  he  drew  from  his 
pocket  a  fat  book  of  questions  which  he  had  prepared 
on  every  aspect  of  Mission  work,  and  which  he  fired  at 
each  missionary  in  succession  in  order  to  gain  precise 
information.  It  gradually  became  clear  to  me  that  his 
was  a  master  mind  that  would  not  co-operate  with  any 
one,  but  would  lead  in  an  independent  scheme  of  his 
own,  in  which,  however,  he  would  invite  and  expect  other 
Missions  to  help  him. 

In  the  development  of  the  Y.M.C.A.  he  brought  to 
bear  all  the  genius  that  would  have  made  him  conspicuous 
in  any  branch  of  business  that  he  might  otherwise  have 
taken  up.  The  principles  of  work  on  which  the 
Association  was  based  were  akin  to  the  lines  of  policy 
of  the  most  successful  business  systems  of  America.  Dr. 
Mott  obtained  the  chief  control  of  the  Student  Volunteer 
Movement  in  England  and  America,  and  by  this  means 
had  access  to  the  best  students  of  Christendom  from 
among^  whom  he   could   select    choice   men   and  women 


332  FORTY-FIVE   YEARS  IN   CHINA 

for  his  work.  By  his  powerful  and  inspiring  addresses 
and  magnetic  personality  he  stirred  the  hearts  of 
University  students  wonderfully  in  Europe  and  America. 

The  lecture  system  which  I  had  carried  out  in  T'ai- 
yuan  fu,  which  Mr.  Whitewright  had  made  use  of  in 
his  unique  museum  and  institute  first  in  Ch'ing-chow 
fu  and  then  in  Chi -nan  fu,  I  described  to  Dr.  Mott  on 
our  way  to  Nanking. 

This  has  been  very  successfully  planned  and  organized 
on  a  large  scale  in  the  Y.M.C.A.,  under  the  able 
management  of  Professor  Robertson. 

But  Dr.  Mott's  crowning  achievement  was  in  connec- 
tion with  the  Edinburgh  Conference  of  1910,  and  the 
Continuation  Committee  in    1 9 1 2 . 

10.  The  Edinburgh  Conference. 

The  vatious  missionary  bodies  in  India  and  China 
had  always  been  in  advance  of  the  Churches  at  home 
in  their  expression  of  united  action.  But  attempts  had 
been  made  both  in  America  and  England,  such  as  the 
Ecumenical  Conference  in  New  York  and  that  in 
Liverpool,  to  show  united  interest  in  the  operations  of 
all  branches  of  the  Christian  Church.  Of  all  these 
Union  meetings,  that  of  the  Edinburgh  Conference,  under 
the  chairmanship  of  Dr.  Mott,  was  the  most  elaborately 
organized    and    most    successfully    carried    out. 

As  there  were  so  many  delegates,  it  was  impossible 
to  allow  them  to  make  long  speeches,  therefore,  whether 
they  were  bishops  or  less  important  people,  they  were 
each  limited  to  seven  minutes.  In  my  speech,  which 
was  naturally  on  the  need  of  Christian  literature,  I  pointed 
out  that  the  strength  of  a  chain  was  in  its  weakest  link, 
and  that  the  weakest  link  in  missionary  operations  in 
China    was    valuable    Christian    literature. 

1 1 .  Edinburgh  Conference  Continuation 
Committee. 

It  was  felt  at  the  close  of  the  Edinburgh  Conference 
that  the  organization  of  a  world-missionary  effort  had 
really  only  commenced,  the  foundation  alone  having  been 


Photo  by\ 


[HUialt  &■  Fry. 


TIMOTHY   RICHARD   AT   65  :   WITH    DOUBLE   DRAGON   AND   RED 
CROSS   DECORATIONS. 


RELIGIOUS   MOVEMENTS  333 

laid.  It  was  therefore  decided  to  form  a  Continuation 
Committee,  over  which  Dr.  Mott  continued  to  preside. 
In  his  capacity  as  chairman  he  visited  India,  where 
he  held  important  conferences,  and  afterwards  China, 
where  he  had  five  local  conferences  and  one  national  one. 
At  one  of  these  meetings,  Dr.  Mott  stated  that  I  had 
some  years  ago  pleaded  for  twenty  more  workers  in 
connection  with  Christian  literature  ;  he  was  sorry  that 
the  Churches  had  not  responded,  for  it  was  a  duty 
which  they  had  neglected. 

At  the  Continuation  Conference  I  laid  stress  on  two 
special  points.  First,  I  begged  for  an  improved  distri- 
bution of  Mission  funds,  for  so  far  liberal  amounts  had 
been  allocated  towards  evangelistic,  educational,  and 
medical  work.  Secondly,  I  asked  that  the  Missionary 
Societies  should  insist  on  their  agents  sending  annual 
reports  of  the  books  they  had  distributed,  and  the  effect 
of  those  books  on  the  readers,  in  order  to  discover  what 
kind   of   literature   was  the   most   effective. 

I  am  glad  to  find  from  the  recent  work  of  the 
Continuation  Committee  that  they  intend  to  do  much 
more  for  literary  work  in  the  future  than  was  done  in 
the  past. 


CHAPTER    XIX 
HIGHER   BUDDHISM 

I.   Study  of  Buddhism. 

Not  long  after  accepting  the  post  of  Secretary  to  the 
S.D.K.  in  Shanghai,  I  was  confronted  with  the  great 
problem  of  how  to  change  the  religious  faith,  not  merely  of 
a  single  province,  but  of  a  nation  of  many  hundreds  of 
millions.  At  this  time  a  little  company  of  missionaries, 
anxious  to  arrive  at  the  fundamentals  of  religious 
problems,  often  met  together  for  discussions  on  them. 
I  was  asked  to  Write  a  paper  explaining  how  it  was 
,'  that  Buddhism  had  attracted  so  large  a  number  of 
adherents,  leading  them  to  build  such  numerous  and 
beautiful  temples  in  China.  In  order  to  get  material 
for  my  paper,  I  studied  and  translated  a  Buddhist  work 
called  "  Guide  to  Buddhahood."  This,  though  inter- 
esting, did  not  give  me  exactly  what  I  wished.  I  had 
previously,  however,  in  1884,  come  across  a  very 
remarkable  book  which  had  made  clear  to  my  mind 
the  secret  of  the  influence  of  Buddhism.  This  treatise 
'  f  was  called  "  The  Awakening  of  Faith  in  the  Mahayana 
-J  School  of  Religion."  A  devout  Buddhist  who  had  been 
converted  from  Confucianism,  and  who  was  master  of 
Buddhist  philosophical  terms,  had  offered  to  help  me 
to  translate  the  book  into  English  if  I  could  spare  the 
time.  This  book  I  translated  in  1891  with  his  help, 
though  my  translation  was  not  published  till  after  another, 
ij  by  Suzuki,  had  appeared.  Its  author,  Ashvagosha,  was 
the  founder  of  the  Mahayana  School  of  Buddhism,  a 
new    sect    that    arose    towards     the    end     of    the     first 

century    A.D.     in     North-West     India,     opposed     to     the 

334 


HIGHER  BUDDHISM  335 

Hinayana  or  original  School  of  Buddhism.  The  doctrines 
of  the  new  school  were  those  of  "  one  soul  immanent 
for  good  in  all  the  universe,  of  one  Divine  helper  of 
men,  of  individual  immortality  and  growth  in  the  likeness 
of  God,  of  the  importance  of  faith  in  God  to  produce 
good  works,  and  of  the  willingness  of  the  best  spirits 
to  make  sacrifices  to  save  others." 

2.   Professor  Lloyd. 

I  was  greatly  struck  by  the  Christian  nature  of  the 
teaching  of  the  book.  Nor  was  I  the  only  one  who 
remarked  the  resemblance.  During  the  Centenary 
Conference  of  Missions  held  in  Shanghai  in  1907,  a 
friend  lent  me  a  book  on  Japanese  Buddhism,  in  which 
Amida  (the  Buddhist  God)  was  referred  to  as  being 
the  same  as  God.  The  author  was  a  Cambridge 
University  man,  Arthur  Lloyd,  professor  in  one  of  the 
Tokyo  colleges,  and  formerly  a  C.M.S.  missionary.  His 
apparently  similar  interest  in  Buddhism  led  to  a  corre- 
spondence between  us,  and  the  following  year,  1908, 
I   visited  him  in  Tokyo. 

One  day  he  invited  a  number  of  most  interesting 
men  for  lunch.  A  Roman  Catholic  Bishop  was  the 
only  one  unable  to  come,  but  the  others  were  Archbishop 
Nicolai  of  the  Greek  Church,  Bishop  Awdry  of  the 
Anglican  Church,  Bishop  McKin  of  the  American  Church, 
Bishop  Harris  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  Carey 
Hall,  the  British  Consul-General  at  Yokohama,  Dr. 
Sprague,  Professor  of  Economics  at  the  Tokyo 
University,  and  an  English  clergyman  from  Yokohama. 
As  soon  as  Archbishop  Nicolai  arrived,  he  sat  by  me 
on  a  sofa  and  said  :  "  When  you  called  on  me  in  the 
'eighties,  I  had  only  one  newspaper.  Now  I  have  two." 
I  asked  him  among  what  class  of  people  he  worked. 
He  replied  very  humbly  :  "  I  work  among  a  very 
different  class  of  people  from  my  Protestant  colleagues. 
They  work  among  statesmen,  and  leaders,  and  students, 
while  I  work  amongst  the  ignorant  poor."  Yet  I  knew 
that  he  alone  had  as  many  converts  as  most  of  the  other 
missionaries  put  together.     After  lunch  Mr.  Lloyd  took  us 


336  FORTY-FIVE   YEARS   IN   CHINA 

to  his  study,  where  he  asked  me  to  put  any  question 
I  wished  bearing  on  the  problems  in  Japan.  I  told 
the  friends  of  my  great  surprise  at  finding  that 
Christianity  was  making  comparatively  slow  progress  in 
the  Far  East,  and  that  I  would  very  much  like  to  know 
their  individual  views  on  the  subject.  The  Consul- 
General  was  a  Positivist,  and  remarked  that  as  a  layman 
he  had  been  greatly  pleased  with  the  great  difference 
in  the  attitude  of  the  missionaries  from  that  of  the 
merchants  towards  the  Japanese,  the  former  being  pro- 
Japanese,  the  latter  anti-Japanese  ;  but  that  in  his 
opinion,  if  the  missionaries  were  less  theological  and 
more  practical,  and  gave  more  attention  to  sociological 
problems,  their  influence  would  be  far  greater  and  wider. 
Dr.  Sprague  then  said  he  thought  it  a  mistake  for  the 
missionaries  to  remain  in  Japan  ;  they  should  pass  on, 
like  St.  Paul,  from  place  to  place  ;  by  leaving  they  would 
allow  the  Japanese  to  circulate  Christian  truths  amongst 
themselves,  and  the  progress  of  Christianity  would  be 
much  more  rapid.  Professor  Lloyd's  opinion  was  that  the 
slow  progress  of  Christianity  was  due  to  the  ignorance,  on 
the  part  of  the  missionaries,  of  the  native  religions  and 
sects.  Most  of  the  other  friends  were  not  ready  to 
admit  that  the  progress  of  Christianity  was  slow,  and 
their  remarks  were  more  or  less  apologetic  and  not 
very  distinctive.  At  the  close,  however.  Bishop  Awdry 
said  he  had  never  before  known  so  many  taking  part 
in  such  a  conversation. 

A  few  days  after  this,  at  the  request  of  the  Asiatic 
Society,  I  gave  an  address  on  Confucianism.  Professor 
Lloyd  begged  me  to  make  a  special  plea  at  the  close 
for  earnest  study  of  comparative  religion,  as  he  considered 
it  would  render  missionary  work  more  effective.  At 
this  time  Professor  Lloyd  was  engaged  on  two  inter- 
esting books  on  Buddhism,  "  Wheat  among  Tares  "  and 
"The    Creed   of   Half   Japan." 

3.  Introduction  of  Buddhism  into  Japan. 

In  order  better  to  understand  the  importance  of 
Professor  Lloyd's  other  researches  on  Higher  Buddhism 


HIGHER  BUDDHISM  337 

a  few  historical  data  should  be  mentioned.  Mahayana 
or  Higher  Buddhism  was  first  introduced  into  Japan  by 
way  of  Korea,  and  its  influence  in  Japan  was  so  remark- 
able that  an  Emperor  in  the  ninth  century,  knowing  that 
it  had  come  to  Korea  from  China,  sent  Kobo  Daishi  and 
Dengyo  Daishi  as  ambassadors  to  China  to  study  more 
of  the  religion.  Kobo  Daishi  may  be  regarded  as  the 
Luther  of  Japan.  The  embassy  sailed  in  three  junks 
across  the  stormy  China  Sea.  One  of  them  was  lost 
in  a  typhoon  on  the  way.  The  others  were  separated 
and  each  feared  the  other  lost.  After  incredible  hard- 
ships, however,  they  arrived  at  the  Chinese  coast  and 
made  their  way  to  the  capital.  There  they  found  no 
less  than  three  thousand  Christian,  Buddhist,  Brahmin, 
and    Mohammedan    missionaries    residing. 

Kobo  Daishi 's  co-ambassador  to  China,  Dengyo 
Daishi,  hearing  that  there  was  a  very  sacred  book  in 
T'ien-t'ai  San,  near  Hangchow,  went  there  and  found 
this  special  work,  "The  Lotus  Scripture."  It  was 
considered  to  surpass  all  other  sacred  writings  in  virtue. 
It  had  not  come  overland  to  North  China  like  the  other 
Buddhist  Scriptures,  but  had  been  brought  by  sea, 
probably  from  Egypt.  This  sea  journey  is  not  surprising, 
for  according  to  Brooks  Adams,  in  his  "  New  Empire," 
the  Chinese  appear  to  have  made  voyages  to  the  Persian 
Gulf  as  early  as  the  third  century  of  the  Christian  era, 
and  by  the  eighth  century  the  sea  journey  from  Egypt 
to    India   was    frequently   undertaken. 

After  Dengyo  Daishi  had  taken  "  The  Lotus  Scripture  " 
to  Japan,  it  became  the  chief  sacred  book  of  the  Nicheren 
sect,  one  of  the  most  popular  in  Japan  to-day.  Thus 
we  see  that  the  religion  of  the  Far  East  is  not  merely 
the  growth  of  one  native  religion  or  sect,  but  a  develop- 
ment of  a  religion  which  has  ramifications  throughout 
all  the  Far  East,   if  not  all   Asia. 

4.  Connection  between  Early  Christianity  and 
"  The   Lotus  Scripture." 

In  "  Wheat  Among  Tares  "  Professor  Lloyd  dwelt  on 
the   likeness   of  the  thought   underlying   the   doctrine  of 

22 


338  FORTY-FIVE   YEARS   IN   CHINA 

the  Nicheren  sect  of  Buddhism  to  the  speculation  of  the 
Alexandrian  Gnostics.  These  doctrines  were  drawn  from 
"  The  Lotus  Scripture,"  and  he  proved  it  to  be  a  transla- 
tion of  a  book  of  Scythian  origin,  the  original  portion 
being  a  work  known  to  some  of  the  Greek  Fathers  of  the 
second  and  third  centuries,  and  written  by  an  Indian 
Buddhist  residing  in  Alexandria  during  the  second 
century.  In  "  The  Creed  of  Half  Japan,"  which  was 
published  in  1 9 1  i  after  his  death,  Professor  Lloyd  drew 
attention  to  the  remarkable  parallel  between  Christianity 
and  the  Mahayana  School  of  Buddhism,  and  pleaded  for 
Christian  teachers  "  of  sympathy  and  patience  who  would 
be  willing  ...  to  say  to  the  Buddhist,  '  I  will  walk 
with  you,  and  together  we  will  go  to  Him  to  whom 
you   say   Sakyamuni   himself   bore   witness.'  " 

5.  Mrs.  Gordon's  Researches. 

At  this  time  there  lived  in  Tokyo  the  Hon.  Mrs. 
E.  A.  Gordon,  who  had  been  instrumental  with  Mrs. 
Archibald  Little  and  Sir  Percy  Bunting  in  collecting 
a  library  of  the  best  English  literature  for  the  use  of 
our  gallant  allies.  Mrs.  Gordon  had  brought  this  library 
to  Tokyo,  where  she  presented  it  to  the  authorities,  who 
were  so  pleased  that  they  erected  a  special  building 
to  contain  it.  Mrs.  Gordon's  great  dqsire  was  to  study 
the  religions  of  Japan.  At  her  house  I  met  the  Abbot 
of  the  Nicheren  sect  of  Buddhism,  who  presented  me 
with  a  copy  of  "  The  Lotus  Scripture  "  in  Japanese. 
This  edition  contained  an  abstract  of  its  teaching  in 
Chinese.  On  reading  it,  I  was  struck  with  its  doctrines 
of  Life,  Light,  and  Love,  and  its  similarity  to  the  Gospel 
of  St.  John. 

The  following  summer  I  went  to  Miyajima,  where 
I  met  Mrs.  Gordon  again,  and  where  I  began  a  trans- 
lation of  "The  Lotus  Scripture,"  Mrs.  Gordon  making 
some  notes  on  it.  When  telling  her  of  the  lunch  party 
at  Professor  Lloyd's,  I  suggested  it  would  be  interesting 
to  meet  some  of  the  leading  native  pastors  and  ask 
their  reasons  for  the  slow  progress  of  Christianity.  Mrs. 
Gordon    accordingly    invited    about    a     dozen,    and    the 


HIGHER   BUDDHISM  339 

unanimity  of  all  was  remarkable  in  saying  that  the 
missionaries  did  not  understand  the  philosophy,  the 
religion,  or  the  customs  of  Japan,  and  consequently  they 
did  not  win  but  frequently  alienated  many  of  the  best 
people  who  otherwise  would  gladly  welcome  Christianity. 
On  hearing  this,  I  felt  more  strongly  than  ever  the 
importance  of  the  study  of  native  religions  in  order 
to  win  the  Far  East  to  the  Christian  faith. 

With  heart  and  soul  Mrs.  Gordon  made  researches 
in  her  study  of  the  various  religions  and  sects,  and 
published  "  The  Speaking  Stone  "  and  "  The  Lotus 
Scripture."  The  first  book  referred  to  the  Nestorian 
monument  in  Si -an  fu,  and  showed  how  many  Japanese 
religious  customs  were  similar  to  Christian  rites,  and 
must  have  been  brought  to  Japan  by  Kobo  Daishi  and 
Dengyo  Daishi,  who  had  been  sent  as  ambassadors  to 
China  in  A.D.  800.  Mrs.  Gordon's  book  was  translated 
into  Japanese  by  the  leading  Sanskrit  scholar,  Takakusu, 
and  published  in  a  Buddhist  magazine,  causing  a  great 
stir  among  the  Buddhists  in  Japan.  In  the  past  the 
Buddhists  and  Christians  had  been  attacking  each  other 
most  vigorously,  stirring  up  bitter  strife  ;  but  after  the 
appearance  of  this  friendly  historical  statement  the 
Japanese  Buddhists  were  so  moved  by  appreciation  of 
Christianity  that  they  made  a  replica  of  the  Nestorian 
Stone  of  Si -an  fu  and  put  it  up  at  Koyasan,  where 
Kobo  Daishi  is  buried  awaiting  the  coming  of 
the  Buddhist  Messiah.  His  tomb  is  a  simple  one. 
Approaching  it  are  long  lines  of  tall  cryptomaria,  and 
on  either  side  of  the  avenue  are  thousands  of  graves 
of  eminent  and  devout  Japanese,  buried  there  in  the 
hope  that  when  Kobo  Daishi  arises  they  also  will  rise 
from   the   tomb. 

6.  Visit  to  Koyasan. 

When  I  visited  Koyasan,  and  it  was  known  that  I  had 
translated  two  of  the  standard  Buddhist  works,  "  The 
Awakening  of  Faith  "  and  the  "  Essence  of  the  Lotus 
Scripture,"  the  Principal  and  Faculty  of  the  Buddhist 
college     called     on     me     and     invited     me     to     lecture 


340  FORTY-FIVE   YEARS   IN   CHINA 

to  the    students    on    each   of   the    four   days    I    proposed 
to   stay   there. 

The   subjects    I   chose  to   lecture   on    were  : — 

The  Religions  of  the  World. 
The  Civihzations  of  the  World. 
The  Increase  of  Materialism  in  the  World. 
The   Duty  of   Buddhists  and   Christians  to   Revive  Spiritual 
Religion  in  the  World. 

For  these  lectures  the  faculty  and  students  made  me 
a  special  vote  of  thanks.  Before  leaving  Koyasan  I 
called  on  the  supreme  Abbot  and  asked  him  if  he  were 
willing  to  co-operate  in  the  revival  of  true  religion. 
He  responded  most  readily  and  heartily  for  two  reasons  : 
first,  because  Buddhism  sought  the  spiritual  and  not 
the  material  ;  secondly,  Higher  Buddhism,  which  they 
in  Japan  followed,  did  not  require  personal  salvation 
merely,  but  encouraged  the  salvation  of  others.  When 
I  left  Koyasan  the  Principal  came  a  long  way  with 
me,  and  asked  me  to  send  him  a  copy  of  our  Bible,  so 
that  he  might  place  it  in  the  library  for  the  use  of  his 
students.     This  I  did  on  my  return  to  Shanghai. 

This  new  friendly  movement  towards  Buddhism  was 
not  one-sided,  for  one  of  the  students  in  the  Buddhist 
college  at  Koyasan  had  already  translated  and  published 
some  of  Tolstoi's  parables  into  Japanese.  A  couple  of 
years  later  a  Buddhist  priest  named  Iwashashi  discovered 
the  similarity  between  the  two  religions,  and  delivered 
a  course  of  lectures  on  the  subject  to  the  priests  at 
Kyoto.  At  first,  when  they  found  him  friendly  to 
Christianity,  they  were  hostile,  but  gradually  their 
attitude  changed  and  the  audiences  increased  at  each 
lecture.  Later  he  came  over  to  Shanghai  to  obtain 
fuller  information  about  Christianity,  and  remained 
studying   for   two   months   with   me. 

7.  Similarities  of  Christian  and  Buddhist  Rites. 

The  first  temples  of  Higher  Buddhism  jn  Japan  were 
built  at  Horiuji,  near  Nara,  the  ancient  capital.     In  one 


HIGHER  BUDDHISM  341 

of  these  temples  one  is  amazed  at  the  vivid  Hkeness  of 
some  of  the  images  to  the  description  of  the  "  four 
beasts  round  about  the  throne  "  in  the  Book  of 
Revelation.  In  another,  Buddha  as  the  Great  Physician 
is  represented  as  healing  all  manner  of  diseases.  In 
another  Sakyamuni  is  presented  surrounded  by  his  twelve 
armed  generals  (disciples)^  whose  names  are  all  given. 
He  stands  on  a  sea  of  glass  and  the  sun  and  moon 
wait  upon  him.  In  the  service  conducted  in  that  temple 
they  made  the  sign  of  the  cross  in  the  air. 

Miyajima,  about  half-way  between  Shimonoseki  and 
Kobe,  is  one  of  the  sacred  islands  of  Japan.  It  has 
a  famous  temple,  said  to  have  been  founded  by  Kobo 
Daishi,    the    famous    religious   reformer. 

On  his  return  from  China,  Kobo  Daishi  endeavoured 
to  unite  the  various  religions  of  Japan  into  one,  and 
to  introduce  what  he  considered  to  be  the  best  in  all  the 
religions  he  found  in  China.  At  the  top  of  the  hill 
in  Miyajima  is  a  temple  where  a  sacred  fire,  first  lit 
by  Kobo  Daishi,  has  been  kept  burning  ever  since.  At 
the  foot  of  the  hill  is  a  baptistery,  which  I  was  allowed 
to  enter.  I  was  shown  a  specially  beautiful  robe  of 
silk  worn  by  the  priests  during  the  baptismal  service 
which  is  still  observed  in  the  Buddhism  of  Japan.  When 
I  explained  to  the  priest  our  baptismal  custom  in  the 
West,  he  was  greatly  interested.  In  another  large  temple 
the  priests  were  reciting  prayers,  the  custom  and  form 
strongly  reminding  me  of  the  Roman  Catholic  Mass. 
In  the  large  hall  I  observed  a  family — father,  mother, 
sons,  and  daughters — kneeling  reverently  near  the  door. 
To  them  came  a  priest  bearing  a  tray  on  which  were 
set  some  little  cakes  and  wine.  They  took  the  cakes 
and  drank  the  wine,  after  which  the  priest  returned 
to  his  post  by  the  altar.  On  feast  days  this  ceremony, 
which  we  might  call  the  Shinto  Mass,  or  Communion, 
continues  throughout  the  day.  It  was  impossible  to 
witness  these  various  rites  without  thinking  of  the 
ceremonies  of  the  Christian  Church,  for  the  spirit 
pervading  them  seemed  the  same  although  the  outward 
form    differed. 


342  FORTY-FIVE   YEARS   IN   CHINA 

8.  Visit  to  Korean  Buddhist  Monasteries. 

As  Higher  Buddhism  came  to  Japan  from  Korea,  I 
paid  a  special  visit  to  South  Korea  in  191 3  in  order  to 
study  certain  temples.  One  of  the  oldest  and  largest 
Buddhist  monasteries  in  Korea  is  the  Tsudoji  in  South 
Korea,  not  far  from  Fusan.  There  the  "  Ship  of  Souls 
is  painted  with  great  clearness  on  the  walls,  Kwanyin 
and  Sakyamuni  occupy  a  prominent  position,  and  the 
Trinity    are    painted    together    on    a    vase. 

But  the  most  remarkable  place  in  Korea  is  a  cave 
temple,  half  a  day's  journey  to  the  east  of  the  ancient 
capital  of  the  Southern  Kingdom  of  Korea.  It  was 
built  at  the  suggestion  of  a  black  monk  who  had 
arrived  on  Korean  shores  from  across  the  seas.  He  it 
was  who  taught  the  Koreans   the  use   of  incense  sticks. 

The  Korean  King  had  a  daughter  whom  none  could 
cure.  The  black  monk  was  appealed  to,  and  the  King 
made  a  solemn  vow  that  if  she  were  healed  he  would 
put  up  images  of  Buddhas  and  Boddhisatvas  in  honour 
of  the  black  priest's  religion.  The  princess  was 
healed,  and  the  King  sent  to  China  for  the  best  artists, 
who  spent  many  years  in  their  labours  of  love  which 
are  a  joy  to  all  who  see  their  work  to-day.  The  cave 
temple  is  one  of  the  unique  ones  in  the  Far  East,  for 
it  contains  a  wonderful  central  image  of  Buddha.  An 
archaeologist  from  Chicago  believes  that  it  is  the  original 
figure  from  which  the  noted  masterpiece  at  Kamakura 
was    modelled. 

9.    Striking   Shinto   Rites. 

Not  only  does  Buddhism  have  much  in  common  with 
Christianity,  but  Shintoism  also.  If  by  any  chance  the 
Imperial  Japanese  line  of  succession  should  fail,  there  is 
another  branch  considered  equally  sacred  and  descended 
from  the  gods.  The  chief  of  this  line  is  the  Shinto 
high  priest  at  Idzumo,  on  the  western  side  of  Japan. 
With  the  exception  of  Ise,  which  is  considered  the  most 
sacred  Shinto  temple  belonging  to  the  Emperor,  the 
temple   at   Idzumo   ranks   the   highest   in   the   Empire. 


HIGHER  BUDDHISM  343 

I  visited  it  in  the  summer  of  1908.  As  I  was  a 
complete  stranger,  and  the  chief  priest  occupied  such 
a  high  position,  I  was  very  pleased  that  he  granted  me 
an  interview,  and  appointed  a  priest  to  conduct  my 
foreign  friend  and  me  round  the  precincts.  In  one 
of  the  rooms  was  preserved  a  facsimile  of  a  wooden 
drill,  by  which  in  olden  times  fire  was  obtained.  Another 
precious  treasure  in  the  same  chamber  was  an  image 
armed  with  a  sword  of  an  ancient  goddess,  from  whom 
the  Shinto  priest  was  supposed  to  be  descended.  Shortly 
after  my  visit  I  read  Lafcadio  Hearn's  description  of  the 
Idzumo  temple.  He  was  the  first  foreigner  to  see  the 
chief  priest  of  this  Shinto  branch,  a  few  years  previously. 

It  was  curious  to  notice  that  the  old  Jewish  custom 
of  clapping  the  hands  at  worship  was  everywhere 
observed  in  the  Shinto  temples.  At  a  certain  season 
of  the  year  some  eighty  thousand  pilgrims  visit  the  temple^ 
and  those  present  at  such  an  enormous  gathering  say 
tiiat  the  clapping  of  hands  sounds  like  the  roar  of  a 
cataract.  The  Shinto  priests  are  clad  in  pure  white 
robes.  The  temples  are  usually  arranged  in  a  series 
of  three  buildings,  separated  by  courtyards.  At  the 
entrance  to  each  is  a  curtain  or  veil,  which  reminds 
one  of  the  veil  of  the  Temple  at  Jerusalem.  In  every 
courtyard  is  a  stone  or  bronze  trough,  or  sometimes 
a  beautiful  brass  laver,  where  the  worshipper  first  washes 
his  hands  before  entering  the  temple.  "  Who  shall  stand 
in  His  holy  place  ?  He  that  hath  clean  hands  and  a 
pure  heart  "    (Psa.    xxiv.   3,    4). 

10.   "A  Mission  to  Heaven." 

W^en  I  translated  that  masterpiece  of  Chinese 
literature  "  Si  Yu  Ki,"  which  I  published  in  191 3,  under 
the  title  of  "A  Mission  to  Heaven,"  it  was  evident 
to  me  that  the  book  was  constructed  on  profound 
Christian  philosophy.  The  leader  of  the  expedition,  the 
Master,  is  an  allegorical  figure  of  Jesus  Christ,  and  is 
the  helper  in  all  difficulties,  and  the  agent  in  the 
conversion  of  each  one  of  his  party,  turning  the  proud, 
masterful  monkey  to  repentance  and  a  right  use  of  his 


344  FORTY-FIVE   YEARS  IN   CHINA 

intellectual  gifts,  converting  the  low,  selfish  tastes  of 
the  pig  into  desires  for  high  self-sacrifice,  changing 
the  conceit  of  the  dolphin  into  humility  and  the 
stupidity  of  the  dragon  into  usefulness,  so  that  after 
all  have  led  lives  of  service  for  the  salvation  of  men, 
they  are  received  into  heaven,  where  God  rewards  them 
with  immortal  glory.  No  doubt  was  left  in  my  mind 
but  that  the  work  was  that  of  a  Christian  who  sought 
to  evangelize  China.  But  time  will  be  needed  before 
many    readers    will    fully    comprehend    its    teaching. 

II.  Attitude  of  Prince  Ito  towards  Religion. 

In  connection  with  this  subject,  it  may  be  interesting" 
to  my  readers  to  hear  of  the  attitude  of  two  famous 
Japanese   statesmen   towards   religion. 

In  January  1908  I  had  an  interview  with  Prince  Ito 
in  connection  with  my  scheme  of  federation  of  the  ten 
leading  nations.  After  about  an  hour's  keen  discussion 
I  rose  to  take  my  leave.  He  then  said,  "  Perhaps  you 
will  be  interested  to  see  the  next  room,"  and  with  that 
he  opened  the  door  of  a  large  chamber  with  nothing  ir 
it  but  a  table  and  a  few  chairs. 

"  This  is  the  room  where  the  Constitution  of  Japan 
was  drawn  up,"  he  said.  "  The  Emperor  had  formed 
a  Cabinet  of  which  I  was  President,  and  here  we  met 
once  a  fortnight  to  frame  the  Constitution.  The  Emperor 
attended  every  meeting  from  first  to  last.  He  did  not 
sit  with  us,  but  in  an  adjoining  room  where  he  could 
hear  every  word." 

"  It  must  have  been  no  easy  task,"  I  remarked. 
"What   were  the   most    difficult   questions?" 

"  Perhaps  the  stormiest  time  we  had  was  over  the 
Article  on  religious  liberty,"   he  replied. 

He  then  told  me  how  he  had  been  able  to  gain 
the  consent  of  the  members  opposed  to  it.  In  managing 
this  difficult  question  he  had  shown  consummate  skill. 
When  he  read  his  first  draft  of  the  Article,  the  face  of 
one  member  "  turned  as  black  as  ink,"  and  he  exclaimed 
that  he  would  never  consent  to  grant  religious  hberty.  A 
second   member   supported   him. 


HIGHER  BUDDHISM  345 

Seeing  the  determined  opposition  of  these  two  men, 
the  Marquis  remarked  that  there  would  be  no  discussion 
of  the  question  that  day,  but  he  would  give  them  his 
reasons  for  inserting  the  Article,  and  they  would  have 
time  to  consider  the  matter  before  the  next  meeting. 
The  subject  of  religious  liberty  had  troubled  him  also 
for  many  years.  But  whilst  in  Vienna  he  had  studied 
the  question  with  a  certain  doctor  who  threw  a  new 
light  on  the  matter.  If  a  nation  withheld  religious 
liberty,  there  would  result  between  the  different  religions 
constant  contention,  which  in  process  of  time  might 
develop  into  political  quarrels  and  even  into  civil  war. 
Once  the  nation  were  weakened  by  civil  war,  it  would  be 
at  the  mercy  of  any  strong  nation  who  chose  to  take 
advantage  of  it.  On  the  other  hand,  if  religious  liberty 
were  granted,  the  adherents  of  the  various  religions 
would  be  loyal  to  the  Government,  and  would  vie  with 
each  other  in  doing  good  and  thus  strengthen  the  nation 
in  every  way. 

"  The  real  question  before  the  Cabinet  to-day  is  this," 
he  said  :  "  Shall  we  adopt  a  policy  that  will  give  peace 
and  permanent  prosperity,  or  one  that  will  engender 
strife  and  faction,  and  possibly  involve  us  in  national 
ruin  ? 

"  When  the  Cabinet  next  met,  I  asked  the  members 
if  they  had  considered  the  Articles  on  religious  liberty. 
The  former  chief  opposer  said,  '  I  have  done  nothing, 
night  or  day,  since  we  last  met  but  think  of  this  question, 
and  I  have  come  to  the  conclusion  that  it  is  best  to 
try  the  experiment.'  The  other  opposer  also  agreed 
to  try  it.      Thus   the   matter   was   carried   unanimously." 

After  the  Constitution  had  been  satisfactorily  drawn 
up  the  Emperor  presented  the  house  in  which  the 
meetings  had  taken  place  to  Prince  Ito  for  a  private 
residence . 

12.  Count  Okuma. 

Count  Okuma  is  another  of  the  remarkable  founders 
of  new  Japan .  He  is  a  man  of  large  visions,  a  generation 
ahead  of  his  times,  broad-minded  and  cathoUc  in  spirit. 


346  FORTY-FIVE   YEARS   IN   CHINA 

not  only  wishing  the  good  of  Japan,  as  is  the  supreme 
aim  of  his  fellow-patriots,  but  also  desiring  the  welfare 
of  all  nations. 

In  the  early  days  of  Reform,  his  colleagues  recognized 
his  worth  and  appointed  him  Minister  of  Foreign  Affairs. 
He  advocated  the  policy  of  throwing  open  the  whole 
country  to  foreign  trade  and  intercourse  in  those  early 
days  instead  of  having  merely  a  few  open  ports.  To 
the  Conservatives  this  was  such  radicalism  as  could  not 
be  endured.  He  must  be  put  out  of  the  way.  Therefore, 
one  morning  when  he  was  proceeding  to  the  Foreign 
Office,  a  bomb  was  thrown  into  his  carriage.  By  a 
miracle,  he  was  not  killed,  but  his  leg  was  blown  off". 
Since  then   he   has   walked   with   an  artificial   limb. 

Later,  as  the  Cabinet  did  not  move  as  rapidly  as  he 
wished,  he  resigned  his  position,  and  has  since  devoted 
himself  to  the  establishment  of  a  private  University  in 
Tokyo,  where  the  students  are  taught  on  his  own  lines, 
so  that  in  future  they  may  carry  on  the  policy  for 
which  he  stands.  The  number  of  his  students,  some 
seven  thousand,  is  greater  than  that  of  the  Government 
University  students. 

When  I  visited  Japan  in  January  1908,  I  found  that 
seven  hundred  of  the  Chinese  students  were  in  Count 
Okuma's  University,  and  he  invited  me  to  address  them. 
Judging  by  the  frequent  and  hearty  applause,  I  felt  that 
I  had  struck  the  right  keynote.  I  urged  the  students  not 
to  think  of  going  back  to  China  to  do  any  political 
work  until  they  had  finished  their  college  studies,  and 
had  learned  everything  that  Waseda  could  teach  them, 
or  they   would   do   harm   instead   of  good. 

After  the  lecture  he  invited  me  with  some  professors 
to  his  residence  close  by,  for  some  further  talk,  during 
which  1  asked,  knowing  that  he  had  introduced  the 
comparative  study  of  religion  into  the  University  course, 
whether  there  was  any  likelihood  of  the  subject  being 
introduced  by  the  Government  into  the  Middle  Schools' 
course  ;  for  whatever  Japan  would  do  in  education,  China 
was  sure  to  follow.  The  introduction  of  the  comparative 
study  of  religion  into  the  curriculum  of  Chinese  colleges 


HIGHER   BUDDHISM  347 

would  tend  towards  a  better  understanding  between  the 
Chinese  Government  and  Christian  Missions.  After  a 
non-committal  reply,  he  made  some  illuminating  remarks 
on  the  subject  of  the  Japanese  attitude  towards  relig'ion. 
He  said  that  when  Confucian  scholars  went  over  to  Japan 
the  Emperor  became  greatly  interested  in  their  teaching, 
and  in  consequence  the  Daimyos  became  interested  in 
Confucianism.  Later,  when  Buddhism  was  introduced 
into  Japan,  and  the  Emperor  became  interested  and  built 
temples  for  the  new  religion,  the  Daimyos  followed  his 
example,  and  built  Buddhist  temples  in  their  respective 
principalities. 

"  Thus,"  he  concluded,  "  in  religious  matters  our 
country  largely  follows  the  attitude  of  the  Sovereign," 
leaving  me   to   draw   my   own    conclusions. 

13.  Evening  at  Japanese  Bank  in  Peking. 

In  1 910,  while  I  was  in  Peking  on  my  way  to  attend 
the  Edinburgh  Conference,  the  manager  of  the  Yokohama 
Specie  Bank  invited  the  veteran  Dr.  Martin  and  myself 
to  dinner  at  his  house.  There  were  present  members 
of  the  Japanese  Legation,  two  or  three  journalists,  and 
the  pastor  of  one  of  the  Japanese  Churches  in  Peking. 
After  the  dinner,  we  adjourned  to  the  drawing-room, 
where  a  number  of  Japanese  ladies  joined  the  company. 
The  pastor  gave  out  a  hymn,  which  we  sang,  accompanied 
by  one  of  the  ladies  on  a  harmonium,  after  which  the 
pastor  engaged  in  prayer.  Dr.  Martin  then  gave  an 
address  on  his  sixty  years'  experience  in  China.  I  spoke 
later  on  the  relationship  between  Christianity  and  Higher 
Buddhism,  the  latter  form  of  Buddhism  prevalent  in 
Japan.  The  journalists  made  appreciative  remarks  on 
our  addresses,  and  the  evening  closed  with  a  hymn  and 
benediction.  Thus  ended  a  most  enjoyable  and  edifying 
evening  which  could  not  possibly  have  taken  place  in 
any  other  bank  in   Peking. 


CHAPTER     XX 
EVENTS  AND    WORK  OF   LATER  YEARS 

I.  Visit  to  Korea. 

In  the  winter  of  1908  I  paid  a  visit  to  Korea.  The 
Y.M.C.A.  had  put  up  a  fine  building  in  Seoul,  and 
the  leading  statesmen  and  public  men,  both  Japanese 
and  Korean,  had  consented  to  attend  the  formal  opening 
of  the  building.  I  was  also  invited  by  both  Japanese 
and  Koreans,  and  was  asked  to  do  what  I  could  to 
pour  oil  on  the  troubled  waters.  Meetings  were  held 
for  three  days  to  inaugurate  the  opening,  those  on  the 
first  day  being  more  especially  for  Christians,  those  on 
the  second  day  being  for  students  from  Christian  and 
Government  schools,  while  the  meeting  on  the  third  day 
was  for  high  officials.  I  spoke  each  day.  On  the 
third  day  I  was  put  down  to  speak  after  Prince  Ito, 
while  the  chair  was  taken  by  a  brilliant  Christian  Korean, 
Yun  Tsu  Ho. 

In  my  speech  I  first  sympathized  with  the  Koreans 
in  the  troubles  which  had  overtaken  them  in  the  last 
twenty  years.  And  then  I  told  them  I  was  reminded 
of  a  large  tract  of  land  in  North  China  productive 
of  nothing  but  soda,  so  that  the  owners  could  not  pay 
taxes  on  it,  and  therefore  disowned  it.  But  one  year 
the  Yellow  River  broke  its  banks  and  flooded  the  country 
far  and  wide.  Countless  numbers  of  people  were 
drowned.  When  the  waters  had  subsided,  there  was 
found  deposited  on  the  barren  land  a  thick  layer  of  the 
richest  soil,  so  that  what  had  been  worthless  before 
had   become    of   great    value. 

"  It  seems  to  me,"   I   said,    "  that  at  this  time,   when 

348 


EVENTS   AND  WORK   OF  LATER  YEARS    349 

apparently  you  seem  to  have  suffered  disaster  and  lost 
your  country,  you  are  being  given  immense  opportunities. 
So  long  as  you  are  protected  by  Japan,  no  foreign 
nation  will  molest  you.  Prince  Ito,  whom  the  Emperor 
of  China  wished  to  engage  as  his  adviser,  is  now  your 
adviser.  What  was  China's  loss  is  now  your  gain.  If 
you  make  good  use  of  the  next  twenty  years,  you  will 
become  a  new  people,  a  new  nation,  capable  of  great 
possibilities,  and  you  will  find  that  God  has  turned  your 
calamity    into    a    great    blessing." 

2.  Prince  Ito's  Speech  at  Banquet. 

The  night  before  I  left  Seoul,  Prince  Ito  invited 
the  leading  Japanese,  Koreans,  and  a  few  foreigners 
to  a  banquet,  at  the  close  of  which  he  made  the  most 
remarkable  missionary  speech  I  ever  heard  in  my  life. 
It  was  to  this  effect.  His  Emperor  had  sent  him  round 
the  world  to  visit  various  nations  and  study  what  might 
be  useful  to  Japan.  He  had  learned  three  great  lessons 
in  his  travels  abroad.  The  first  was  that  no  nation 
could  be  considered  prosperous  if  it  did  not  attempt 
something  for  the  material  prosperity  of  its  people.  The 
second  was  that  no  material  prosperity  could  last  long 
without  a  moral  backbone.  The  third  lesson  was  that 
of  the  nations  who  had  moral  backbone,  the  most 
powerful  were  those  who  had  religious  sanction  behind 
them.  He  hoped,  therefore,  that  the  missionaries  would 
regard   him   as   a    sympathizer    and    colleague. 

These  were  the  last  words  I  heard  from  Asia's  greatest 
statesman.  Not  long  after  he  was  struck  down  by  the 
hand  of  an  assassin. 

3.  Sun  Yat-sen's  Early  Career. 

Dr.  Sun  Yat-sen,  who  was  largely  responsible  for  the 
Revolution  in  China,  was  the  son  of  a  convert  of  the 
London  Missionary  Society.  He  graduated  in  medicine 
in  Hongkong,  and  began  to  practise  in  Macao.  Ha 
became  an  active  revolutionary  in  Canton,  but  owing 
to  the  failure  of  his  conspiracy,  fled  to  Japan  and  the 
United    States.      While    in    England    in     1896    he    was 


350  FORTY-FIVE   YEARS   IN   CHINA 

kidnapped  and  imprisoned  for  some  days  in  the  Chinese 
Legation  in  London,  whence  Dr.  CantHe  helped  to  set 
him  free. 

Shortly  after  this  he  called  on  ine  at  my  hotel  in 
London  and  expressed  his  gratitude  for  all  I  had  done 
for  China  by  famine  relief  and  literature.  He  dilated 
on  the  tyranny  and  corruption  of  the  Manchus,  declaring 
that  they  were  all  bad.  In  his  opinion  what  was  necessary 
was  to  replace  the  Manchu  Government  by  a  Chinese 
rule,  then  all  would  be  well.  I  pointed  out  that  he 
was  mistaken,  that  in  studying  Chinese  history  he  would 
find  that  there  had  been  splendid  Manchu  officials  as 
well  as  bad  ones,  while  rascally  Chinese  mandarins  were 
to  be  found  as  well  as  good  ones.  Simply  to  transfer 
the  supreme  power  from  the  Manchus  to  the  Chinese 
without  some  radical  change  at  the  heart  of  government 
was  like  turning  a  bad  dollar  upside  down  ;  it  was  still 
a  bad  dollar.  Reform,  not  revolution,  in  my  opinion, 
was  needed.  But  Sun  would  not  be  dissuaded  from  the 
path  of  revolution,  but  directed  all  his  energies  towards 
disseminating   revolutionary   literature. 

Not  long  after  my  return  to  China  1  visited  the 
southern  ports,  giving  lectures  to  the  missionaries  on 
the  need  of  literary  work.  In  Hongkong  I  met  the 
reformer  Ho-kai,  a  most  interesting  man.  He  had  known 
K'ang  Yu-wei  very  well,  and  had  seen  his  book  in 
manuscript  and  had  given  him  many  points  that  were 
afterwards  embodied  in  the  Memorial  of  Reform  to  the 
Throne.  He  had  advised  Sun  Yat-sen  not  to  advocate 
rebellion,  but   to    "preach   the   gospel   of  Freedom." 

4.  His  Schemes  for  Revolution. 

On  my  way  to  America  in  1900  I  found  that  Dr.  Sun 
was  living  in  Yokohama.  I  called  on  him,  and  found 
him  immersed  in  schemes  for  the  downfall  of  the 
Manchus.  He  declared  that  they  would  never  change 
their  ways  till  compelled  by  threat  of  slaughter.  He 
had  definitely  made  up  his  mind  to  advocate  revolution, 
pure  and  simple.  I  replied  that  we  would  have  to  part 
company,  as  I  believed  in  enlightening  the  Government 


EVENTS   AND   WORK   OF   LATER   YEARS     351 

by  literature.  I  saw  he  had  never  forgiven  the 
Manchus  for  imprisoning  him  in  the  Chinese  Legation 
in  London. 

From  that  time  on  Dr.  Sun  visited  the  Chinese  in 
America,  Singapore,  and  Java,  raising  money  for  revolu- 
tionary purposes.  He  also  visited  Paris  to  ask  the  French 
Government  to  assist  him  in  forming  an  independent 
Chinese  kingdom  in  South  China.  But  the  French  would 
not  listen  to   his   proposal. 

He  then  made  his  headquarters  in  Japan,  where  some 
ten  thousand  Chinese  students  had  gone  to  study  the 
secret  of  the  Japanese  success  over  them.  When  they 
had  obtained  a  smattering  of  knowledge,  many  of  them 
returned  to  their  respective  provinces  and  roused  their 
fellow -provincials  into  a  white  heat  of  hatred  against 
the  Manchu  rule.  In  November  1908  occurred  the 
deaths  of  the  Emperor  and  Empress -Dowager.  The 
Emperor's  brother.  Prince  Ch'un,  was  appointed  Regent 
for  his  little  son,  the  ,new  Emperor.  In  addition  to  his 
efforts  in  Japan,  Dr.  Sun  carried  on  correspondence  with 
Chinese  students  in  Europe  and  America.  Some  of 
the  latter,  though  as  imperfect  in  their  knowledge  of 
the  art  of  government  as  Dr.  Sun  was  in  the  relative 
worth  of  Chinese  and  Manchu  rulers,  believed  that  a 
republican  form  of  government  \vould  make  China  prosper 
like  the  great  republic  of  the  United  States.  So  the 
cry  was  raised,  "  Let  us  have  a  republic  for  China  I  " 
When  all  the  Chinese  students  abroad  and  their  friends 
in  China  were  ripe  for  action^  a  republican  flag  was 
manufactured  in  Chicago,  and  students  who  were  willing 
to  attack  any  Chinese  official  or  induce  him  to  submit 
to  the  republic  were  promised  by  Dr.  Sun  high  positions 
of  authority. 

5.  Outbreak  of  Revolution. 

On  October  11,  191 1,  the  Revolution  broke  out  in 
Wuchang,  and  later  in  countless  other  centres.  The 
Manchu  official  Tuan  Fang,  proceeding  as  Viceroy  to 
Szechuen,  was  brutally  murdered.  On  October  22nd 
terrible  bloodshed  was  witnessed  in  Si -an  fu,  the  capital 


352  FORTY-FIVE   YEARS   IN   CHINA 

of  Shensi,  when  fifteen  thousand  Manchus,  men,  women, 
and  children,  were  massacred.  In  T'ai-yuan  fu  the  gates 
of  the  Manchu  city  were  left  open,  so  that  those  who 
wished  to  escape  might  do  so.  Many  Manchus  were 
slaughtered  in  Foochow,  Hangchow,  Nanking,  and  other 
cities,  and  in  a  couple  of  months  the  whole  of  China 
had  turned  republican. 

Early  in  December  the  Prince  Regent  on  behalf  of 
his  little  son,  the  Emperor,  presented  an  edict  of  abdica- 
tion to  the  Empress -Dowager,  which  she  accepted, 
entrusting  all  poKtical  affairs  to  the  Prime  Minister,  Yuan 
Shih-kai.  Dr.  Sun  was  in  England  when  the  Revolu- 
tion first  broke  out,  but  he  hurried  back  to  China,  and 
in  December  a  Republican  Conference,  representing 
fourteen  provinces,  met  at  Nanking,  electing  Dr.  Sun 
as  Provisional  President  of  the  Republic  of  China  and 
Yuan  Shih-kai  as  Premier.  But  three  months  later 
Dr.  Sun  resigned  in  favour  of  Yuan  Shih-kai.  This 
was  the  wisest  step  in  his  life,  as  he  felt  he  had  had  no 
experience  in  the  art  of  government,  while  Yuan  Shih- 
kai  was  about  the  most  experienced  statesman  in  China. 
Dr.  Sun  was  appointed  Director -General  of  Railways, 
and  advocated  an  extensive  programme  of  railway  con- 
struction. 

But  the  new  republican  officials,  who  had  been  given 
lucrative  positions  by  Dr.  Sun,  proved  for  the  most  part 
not  only  incapable  of  their  duties  but  more  corrupt  than 
the  Manchus.  This  brought  disorder  over  the  land. 
Bands  of  robbers  roamed  the  provinces,  killing  those 
against  whom  they  had  a  grudge  and  carrying  away  their 
property.  Seeing  all  this  disorder  in  the  provinces,  in 
some  of  which  attempts  had  been  made  to  set  up  inde- 
pendent governments,  Yuan  Shih-kai  took  energetic 
measures.  He  appointed  Yen  Ch'ang,  a  Manchu  who 
had  had  military  training  in  Germany,  to  be  Minister 
of  War,  with  efficient  officers  and  trained  men  under 
him.  As  this  army  reform  necessitated  a  great  drain 
on  the  Government's  finances.  Yuan  Shih-kai  decided 
to  borrow  a  large  foreign  loan.  Sun  Yat-scn  protested 
against    the    President's    action    as    unconstitutional,    for 


EVENTS   AND   WORK   OF  LATER   YEARS     353 

Yuan  Shih-kai  had  not  received  the  sanction  of  the 
Parliament. 

I  was  asked  to  see  Dr.  Sun  and  advise  him  not  to 
send  his  protest  abroad.  As  Yuan  was  now  the  head 
of  the  republic,  the  nation  should  show  their  confidence 
in  him  and  not  interfere  with  plans  he  considered  neces- 
sary for  the  strengthening  of  the  country.  When  I 
called  on  Dr.  Sun,  he  was  in  the  act  of  reading  the 
proof  of  his  protest.  He  handed  it  over  to  me  and 
asked  me  what  I  thought  of  it.  I  begged  him  not  to 
publish  it,  but  he  would  not  listen  to  reason,  and  thereby 
ended  his  honourable  career  in   China. 

A  few  of  the  revolutionaries  who  benefited  their  pockets 
to  the  extent  of  millions  of  taels  during  their  brief  but 
notorious  office  made  a  vain  attempt  at  rebellion  in 
1 91 3,  and  had  to  fly  the  country.  They  are  said  to 
be  now  in  hiding  in  Japan  and  elsewhere,  plotting  another 
revolution. 

6.   Yuan   Shih-kai's   Measures. 

Yuan  Shih-kai  was  right  in  insisting  on  a  strong 
army  without  delay  for  the  suppression  of  disorders  in 
the  provinces.  He  has  pacified  the  whole  country  to 
the  admiration  of  all  the  friends  of  China. 

Another  wise  step'  of  his  was  to  invite  back  to  China 
the  leading  Reformers  in  China  who  had  been  banished 
by  the  old  Empress -Dowager.  K'ang  Yu-wei  for  a  time 
would  not  avail  himself  of  the  invitation,  and  when  he 
did  at  last  return  refused  all  offers  of  position.  Liang 
Ch'i-ch'ao  returned  and  was  appointed  Head  of  the  De- 
partment of  Justice.  I  saw  him  once  again  in  the  winter 
of  1 9 1 3  in  Peking.  He  was  anxious  for  a  lady  teacher 
for  his  daughter,  who  wished  to  study  English  literature. 
1  recommended  Miss  Bo wden -Smith,  daughter  of  an 
English  Admiral  and  graduate  of  both  Cambridge 
University,  England,  and  Cornell  University,  U.S.A. 
(At  the  same  meeting  K'ang  Yu-wei  spoke  of  his  belief 
in  the  Fatherhood  of  God  and  brotherhood  of  man,  and 
that  one  day  all  nations  would  be  united  under  one 
government.)     Though  there  have  been  other  Ministers 

23 


354  FORTY-FIVE   YEARS   IN  CHINA 

of  Education,  it  remains  a  fact  that  beyond  the  Govern- 
ment University  in  Peking  there  yet,  in  191 5,  are  no 
adequate  universities  in  the  provinces  to  train  Chinese  in 
the  highest  branches  of  studies.  This  is  the  weakest 
point  in  the  Republic  of  China,  for  she  has  dethroned 
education  from  the  high  place  where  it  reigned  for 
ages  past. 

Yuan  Shih-kai  never  adopted  any  sound  policy  in 
regard  to  education.  As  first  Minister  of  Education 
he  appointed  a  Hanlin  who  had  completed  his  education 
in  Germany  and  imbibed  the  mischievous  principles  of 
Nietzsche  and  beUeved  in  the  supremacy  of  militarism. 
This  official  delivered  a  lecture  in  Shanghai  in  19 14, 
saying  among  other  things  that  reUgion  was  no  longer 
necessary  for  the  people.  But  the  troublous  career  of 
the  first  President  of  the  Chinese  Republic  having  ended 
as  this  book  is  going  through  the  press,  further  comment 
is  needless. 

7.  Modern  Religious  Movement. 

Dr.  Gilbert  Reid,  in  his  International  Institute  in 
Shanghai,  began  to  organize  in  1910  monthly  meetings 
to  discuss  the  merits  of  the  various  rehgions  at  work  in 
China,  and  asked  me  to  act  as  the  foreign  chairman 
at  these  meetings,  a  Chinese  acting  as  Chinese  chair- 
man. He  invited  leading  men  amongst  the  Confucianists, 
Buddhists,  Taoists,  Mohammedans,  and  the  Christians  to 
open  the  discussion  each  with  a  paper  on  his  own  religion. 
According  to  the  rules,  no  one  was  to  dwell  on  the 
faults  of  any  religion,  but  only  on  the  good  it  had  done. 
At  first  the  attendance  at  these  meetings  was  small,  but 
after  the  Revolution  they  became  very  crowded,  and 
when  some  eminent  leader  was  to  speak  the  hall  could 
not  hold  all  the  audience. 

8.  Interview  w^ith   Mullah. 

In  1 910  I  visited  the  chief  Mullah  in  Peking.  During 
our  talk  I  asked  whether  the  Mohammedan  officials,  Like 
Viceroy  Ma,  of  Nanking,  who  had  been  assassinated 
early  in  the  'seventies,  observed  the  Mohammedan  faith 


OFFICES   OF   THE   CHRISTIAN    LITERATURE   SOCIETY,    I43    NORTH    SZECHUEN 
ROAD,   SHANGHAI. 


To  face  p.  354, 


EVENTS   AND   WORK   OF  LATER  YEARS    355 

or  if  they  conformed  to  the  Confucian  practices  in  their 
official  career.  He  rephcd  that  he  feared  Viceroy  Ma 
had  been  more  of  a  Confucianist  than  a  Mohammedan. 
In  other  words,  the  Mohammedans  adopted  the  policy 
followed  by  the  Jesuits,  regarding  Confucianism  as  civil 
rather  than  religious. 

When  I  asked  if  the  education  in  the  Mohammedan 
schools  was  still  carried  on  in  Arabic,  as  I  found  had 
been  the  case  in  1875,  he  replied  that  for  the  benefit  of 
theological  students  Arabic  was  taught  ;  but  it  was 
interesting  to  find  that  in  the  ordinary  Mohammedan 
schools  the  pupils  conformed  to  the  Government  regula- 
tions for  modern  education. 

9.  Religious  Meetings  in  Shanghai. 

After  the  Revolution  of  1 9 1 1  there  was  a  strong 
public  opinion  not  only  that  the  Government  had  failed 
to  rule  the  nation  aright,  but  that  the  religions  of  China 
had  failed.  A  public  meeting  was  called  by  leading 
Reformers  and  was  held  in  the  largest  hall  in  Shanghai. 
Dr.  Reid  and  I,  together  with  some  Chinese  orators, 
were  asked  to  speak.  The  ground  floor  was  packed 
with  men,  the  galleries  with  women,  while  many  hundreds 
could  not  get  into  the  building  at  all.  When  we  urged 
the  nation  to  reform  in  religion  as  well  as  in  other 
matters  the  response  was  most  hearty. 

After  this  the  Buddhists  and  Taoists  organized  regular 
meetings  at  their  temples  to  discuss  the  same  subject, 
and  Dr.  Reid,  myself,  and  some  other  missionaries  were 
usually  invited  to  dinner,  after  which  we  addressed  the 
meetings.  The  Taoist  Pope,  whose  home  is  in  Kiangse, 
was  down  in  Shanghai  at  this  time,  and  we  frequently 
met.  Some  of  the  devout  leaders  often  used  to  call  at 
my  house  and  remain  late  in  the  evening  discussing 
religion.  Thus  public  opinion  became  general  that  a  re- 
construction of  religion  was  needed  throughout  the  nation. 

When  the  great  European  war  of  1914  broke  out,  it 
was  thought  best  to  discontinue  the  International  meetings 
at  the  Institute. 


356  FORTY-FIVE  YEARS  IN  CHINA 

lo.  English  Baptist  Conference  in  Shantung. 
In  the  autumn  of  191 2  the  Enghsh  Baptist  Mission 
in  China  held  its  first  United  Conference,  with  thirteen 
delegates  from  Shantung,  Shansi,  Shensi,  and  Shanghai. 
The  meetings  took  place  in  Ch'ing-chow  fu,  where  I  had 
founded  the  work  of  the  Society  nearly  forty  years  before, 
and  they  proved  a  great  stimulus  and  inspiration  to  us 
all.  At  the  close  of  our  denominational  meetings  we 
were  surprised  to  receive  a  request  from  the  non- 
Christians  in  the  city  for  the  loan  of  the  church  for  a 
public  meeting  to  testify  their  indebtedness  to  the 
Christian  Church  for  every  reform  that  had  been  intro- 
duced. Over  a  thousand  people  gathered  there,  teachers 
and  pupils  from  the  Government  schools,  deputations 
from  all  sections  of  the  community,  including  the 
Mohammedans  and  the  Manchus,  while  a  military  band 
awoke  the  echoes  of  the  place.  Speeches  were  made 
by  various  officials,  while  one  recited  a  poem  specially 
composed  for  the  function.    It  was  a  most  happy  occasion. 

II.  Visit  to  Lao  Shan  in  Shantung. 

In  August  19 1 3,  while  I  was  translating  the  famous 
epic  and  allegory,  the  "  Mission  to  Heaven,"  I  was 
anxious  to  see  the  home  of  the  author,  a  famous  Taoist 
priest.  He  lived  in  various  temples  in  the  eastern  pro- 
montory of  Shantung.  The  easiest  way  of  reaching  them 
was  by  way  of  Tsingtao,  which  in  1913  was  a  beautiful 
centre  of  modern  civilization  under  the  rule  of  the 
Germans.  The  mountain  of  Lao  Shan,  covered  with 
temples,  is  as  famous  among  the  Taoists  as  T'ien-t'ai, 
in  Chekiang,  is  among  the  Buddhists.  The  great 
Emperor  Ch'in  Shih-hwang  is  said  to  have  visited  Lao 
Shan  in  search  of  an  elixir  of  immortality.  An  inscrip- 
tion on  a  rock  near  the  chief  monastery,  Tai  Ch'ing 
Kung,    commemorates   the    Imperial    visit. 

Scores  of  temples  are  scattered  on  this  mountain,  but 
they  are  not  to  be  compared  'with  the  Buddhist  temples 
of  T'ien-t'ai  either  in  beauty  of  architecture  or  in 
sculptural  representations  of  ancient  worthies.  They  are 
mostly  like  farm-houses,  built  some  tens  of  li  apart.     All 


EVENTS   AND  WORK   OF  LATER  YEARS    357 

the  temples  are  Taoist  except  Hwa  Yen  An,  a  Buddhist 
temple. 

On  the  top  of  Lao  Shan,  near  Tsingtao,  is  a  sana- 
torium, called  Mecklenburg  Hause,  where  the  Germans 
often  go.  People  of  other  nationahtics  can  stay  there 
at  a  shghtly  higher  charge.  I  remained  there  a  few  nights, 
visiting  the  nearer  temples  in  the  daytime  and  inspect- 
ing their  religious  books.  The  temples  did  not  greatly 
impress  me.  I  therefore  decided  to  go  on  to  the  chief 
monastery,  Tai  Ch'ing  Kung,  where  lived  the  abbot  who 
ruled  all  the  temples  of  the  mountain.  This  monastery 
was  the  farthest  ofif,  and  could  not  be  reached  in  a  day. 
As  the  road  was  very  rough  and  the  weather  very  hot, 
I  travelled  in  a  chair.  It  was  the  last  day  of  August, 
and  though  in  a  sheltered  chair,  the  heat  was  so 
great  that   the   skin   peeled   off  the   back   of   my   hands. 

By  nightfall  1  reached  the  Buddhist  temple  Hwa  Yen 
An,  which,  judging  from  its  architecture,  must  have  been 
very  grand  at  one  time.  But  the  days  of  its  glory  had 
passed.  Here  1  spent  the  night,  my  pillow  being  a 
block  of  wood.  I  was  not  able  to  see  the  abbot,  for 
he  had  been  carried  off  by  the  district  magistrate,  who 
accused  him  and  his  fellow -priests  of  smoking  opium. 
The  Buddhist  Scriptures  were  neglected,  eaten  by  rats 
and  covered  with  dust,  all  save  the  Lotus  Scripture, 
which  was   conspicuous. 

12.  Monastery  of  Tai  Ch'ing  Kung. 

The  next  day  I  proceeded  on  my  journey  over  very 
rough  roads  and  rocks  and  reached  Tai  Ch'ing  Kung 
monastery.  The  abbot  was  at  home,  and  received  me  most 
kindly.  1  told  him  that  I  had  translated  the  "  Mission 
to  Heaven,"  and  was  anxious,  before  publishing  it,  to 
see  the  temples  of  Lao  shan.  He  took  me  into  a  quiet 
courtyard  and  showed  me  a  little  study  containing  a 
number  of  Taoist  books,  which  I  found  most  useful  for 
reference.  We  had  long  talks  about  the  Revolution,  about 
religion  and  education,  in  all  of  which  subjects  his  views 
were  most  enlightened.  He  believed  that  the  celibacy 
of   Buddhist   and    Taoist    priests    (one    order    of   Taoists 


358  FORTY-FIVE   YEARS   IN   CHINA 

being  celibate)  should  not  be  insisted  on,  and  that  the 
priests  should  be  given  instruction  about  the  religions 
of  the  world. 

The  monastery  consisted  of  about  a  dozen  courtyards, 
in  each  of  which  there  were  houses  where  the  priests 
lived.  There  were  a  hundred  or  more  priests  and  lay- 
labourers  in  the  monastery.  The  latter  looked  after  the 
cultivation  of  the  land  which  the  priests  owned.  Some 
five  or  six  li  off  there  was  a  village  among  the  barren 
rocks.  How  the  villagers  managed  to  live  it  was  diffi- 
cult to  say,  as  they  did  not  seem  to  possess  any  land  to 
cultivate.  Every  day  when  the  tide  went  out  a  large 
number  of  women  and  children  passed  the  gate  of  the 
monastery  on  their  way  to  the  seashore,  where  they 
gathered  cockles,  periwinkles,  and  other  shellfish.  A 
number  would  go  into  the  monastery  and  receive  bowls 
of  millet  gruel  to  supplement  their  poor  fare.  When 
I  praised  the  abbot  for  his  charity  he  said  :  "  This  is  a 
small  trifle  compared  with  what  you  did  nearly  forty 
years  ago  during  the  great  famine  in  Shantung.  One 
of  the  older  priests  here  was  in  Ch'ing-chow  fu  at  the 
time  and  had  been  telling  us  all  about  it.  My  monastery 
is  rich  compared  with  our  neighbours.  I  would  be 
hard-hearted  if  I  did  not  give  help  to  the  needy." 

13.  Return  to  Tsingtao  by  Raft. 

After  having  obtained  all  the  information  I  needed, 
I  made  inquiries  about  the  quickest  way  of  returning  to 
Tsingtao,  as  I  did  not  wish  another  toilsome  journey 
through  the  heat.  The  abbot  told  me  that  rafts,  laden 
with  straw  and  brushwood  from  the  hills,  often 
went  across  the  bay  to  Tsingtao.  We  went  down 
together  to  the  harbour  one  morning  and  found  a  raft 
getting  ready  to  start  at  two  o'clock  that  afternoon  with 
the  tide.  The  abbot  arranged  that  the  men  should  take 
me  as  a  passenger.  After  our  midday  meal  the  cook 
provided  me  with  some  fresh  bread  for  the  voyage,  and 
we  made  our  way  to  the  shore.  Half  a  dozen  of  the 
older  priests  came  down  with  me  and  bade  me  a  very 
friendly  farewell.     The  raft  was  laden  with  a  huge  stack 


EVENTS   AND   WORK   OF  LATER  YEARS    359 

of  brushwood  and  straw,  between  twenty  and  thirty  feet 
high.  I  dimbed  part  of  the  way  up  by  a  ladder,  and 
clambered  up  the  rest  of  the  way  by  means  of  a  rope. 
From  the  top  I  had  a  fine  view  of  sea  and  sky  and  a 
soft  bed.  At  ten  o'clock  at  night  the  men  rested  for 
their  supper.  I  spent  the  night  at  the  top  of  the  stack 
beneath  the  stars,  and  lay  on  the  thickest  mattress  I 
ever  had  beneath  me.  By  dawn  the  next  morning  I  was 
in  Tsingtao,  after  a  delightful  sleep  and  a  calm  voyage. 
I  was  so  pleased  with  the  ease  and  comfort  of  my  return 
journey  that  I  paid  the  men  over  and  above  their  bargain 
money,  at  which  they  were  well  content. 

In  Tsingtao  I  called  on  an  old  friend  of  mine,  Mr. 
Ohlmer,  the  German  Commissioner  of  Customs.  He 
was  much  interested  in  our  Society's  efforts  to  provide 
suitable  literature  to  help  the  Chinese.  Having  seen 
the  wonderful  museum  of  my  colleague,  Mr.  White- 
wright,  in  Chi -nan  fu,  he  had  started  a  somewhat  similar 
museum  in  Tsingtao,  where  he  had  gathered  exhibits  of 
the  chief  products  of  the  province.  He  asked  me  to  assist 
him  in  selecting  the  best  Chinese  books  for  his  library. 

14.  Changs  HA,  Capital  of  Hunan. 
For  many  years  Hunan  had  been  the  most  anti-foreigli 
province  in  the  Empire.  From  it  had  issued  the  most 
virulent  calumnies  against  Christians  and  foreigners,  the 
most  notorious  being  the  work  of  an  official,  Chow  Han, 
whose  libels  were  circulated  in  Government  documents, 
"  King  Shih  Wen."  In  his  tracts  he  threatened  that 
the  first  foreigner  who  dared  to  step  within  the  province 
of  Hunan  should  be  killed,  cut  in  pieces,  and  his  remains 
divided  amongst  families  to  be  eaten.  His  writings  were 
responsible  for  the  various  riots  that  broke  out  in  the 
Yangtze  valley  during  the  early  'nineties.  This  hostility 
was  gradually  overcome,  however,  by  the  influence  of 
S.D.K.  literature  circulated  amongst  officials  there,  and  in 
1896  the  foremost  writer  in  the  S.D.K.  was  invited  to 
lecture  in  a  Reform  College  in  Changsha.  Hunan  took 
a  leading  part  in  the  Reform  Movement.  One  of  those 
beheaded  in    1898   was  a  Hunan   man,  while  four   other 


360  FORTY-FIVE   YEARS   IN   CHINA 

leading  Reformers  had  been  recommended  to  the  Throne 
by  the  Governor  of  Hunan,  who  was  cashiered  for  life 
for  this  offence.  Another  Reformer  who  was  degraded 
for  life  was  Chancellor  of  Education  in  Hunan.  Sym- 
pathy with  Reform  brought  about  friendhness  with 
foreigners.  Mission  work  was  opened  in  1897,  and  in 
1 90 1  the  first  missionaries  opened  schools,  churches,  and 
hospitals  there,  while  members  of  Chinese  families  that 
have  distinguished  themselves  for  the  last  250  years,  the 
Tsengs  and  the  Niehs,  have  been  converted  and  are 
taking  a  leading  part  in  Christian  work  in  the  city. 

15.    My  Visit  in   1914. 

The  main  object  of  my  visit  was  the  dedication  of  a 
new  church  built  by  Dr.  Dubs  of  the  United  Evangelical 
Mission,  and  1  arrived  there  in  June  19 14.  Changsha 
and  other  cities  in  Hunan  were  suffering  from  terrible 
floods,  and  my  landing  there  was  the  most  extraordinary 
I  ever  had.  The  streets  at  the  entrance  of  the  city, 
were  three  feet  under  water.  Men  waded  through,  push- 
ing boats  along  the  streets.  The  lower  floors  of  the 
hongs  and  shops  were  all  abandoned,  the  people  living 
entirely  in  the  upper  stories,  from  which  peeped  the 
women  and  children,  watching  the  coolies  below  carrying 
bundles  or  passengers  on  their  shoulders  or  backs.  For 
the  first  fifty  yards  we  were  conveyed  in  boats,  after  which 
we  took  rickshas  axle -deep  in  water.  Farther  on  I 
was  carried  in  a  chair  into  the  city.  Before  I  left 
Changsha  the  floods  had  risen  so  high  that  the  roofs 
of  the  city  gate  could  be  touched  by  men  entering  in 
boats.      It  was  the  greatest  flood  but  one  in  fifty  years. 

That  evening  several  interesting  men  were  invited  to 
meet  me.  Among  them  were  Mr.  Nieh,  grandson  of 
the  famous  General  Tseng  Kwoh-fan,  and  Mr.  Warren 
of  the  Wesleyan  Mission.  Mr.  Nieh's  father  had  been  at 
one  time  Taotai  in  Shanghai  and  later  Governor  of 
Chekiang    (see  Chap.    IX). 

The  Governor  of  Hunan,  who  ruled  about  twenty 
million  people,  was  named  Tan.  His  brother  was  Minister 
of  Education  in  Peking.    I  called  upon  the  Governor,  the 


EVENTS   AND   WORK   OF  LATER  YEARS     361 

Minister  of  the  Interior,  and  the  Chancellor  of  Education 
on  my  second  day  in  Changsha,  and  on  the  leaders  of 
the  various  missions,  Wesleyan,  Yale,  C.I.M.,  and 
American    Church   Mission,   who    were   all   most   cordial. 

1 6.  Intercourse  with  Buddhists. 

Another  day  I  had  a  visit  from  the  chief  Buddhist 
abbot  and  priests  and  devout  laymen.  I  called  their 
attention  to  the  mistakes  of  the  past.  Christians  had 
been  apt  to  condemn  the  devout  non -Christians,  who, 
in  their  turn,  had  condemned  the  Christians.  But  those 
who  were  familiar  with  one  another's  Scriptures  recog- 
nized that  they  held  much  in  common.  At  the  close  of 
my  address,  a  Chinese  barrister,  in  the  name  of  the 
Buddhists,  thanked  me  for  having  translated  twoi  of  their 
most  important  Scriptures  into  English  and  thus  helped 
to  remove  misunderstanding.  He  gave  a  most  eloquent 
address. 

Before  I  left  Changsha  the  abbot  invited  me  to  his 
monastery.  A  Mr.  Woo  was  there  to  meet  me.  He  was 
a  Hanlin  and  had  been  a  member  of  the  Reform  Club 
in  1895-8,  and  therefore  knew  me.  During  the  Revolu- 
tion he  had  been  made  Governor  of  Kweichow.  He 
was  very  learned  in  Buddhist  Scriptures.  In  discussing 
the  Diamond  Classic,  I  asked  them  what  they  thought  of 
the  prophecy  in  the  sixth  chapter  (see  Chap.  X).  Both 
he  and  the  priests  affirmed  that  my  explanation  was  per- 
missible. I  urged  the  abbot  and  priests  to  reconsider  the 
meaning  of  the  prophecy,  and  to  co-operate  for  the 
revival  of  religion  in   China. 

17.  Meeting  of  Educationists. 

On  June  J7th  the  Chancellor  of  Education  and  the 
principals  of  the  Government  College  and  schools, 
together  with  several  editors,  were  present  at  the  church, 
about  five  hundred  men  of  intellectual  gifts,  at  whose 
faces  it  gave  me  great  pleasure  to  look.  Mr.  Nieh 
presided,  and  gave  out  a  hymn  and  offered  prayer.  The 
hymn  and  the  Lord's  Prayer  were  written  up  in  large 
characters,  so  that  the  audience  could  follow.      I  took  as 


362  FORTY-FIVE   YEARS  IN   CHINA 

the  subject  of  my  address  the  keynote  of  the  hymn  and 
prayer,  "  Thy  Kingdom  come." 

In  my  address  I  seized  the  opportunity  of  pointing  out 
that  what  the  Reform  Society  aimed  at  sixteen  years  ago, 
though  noble  in  its  desire  to  learn  what  was  best  in 
the  leading  nations  of  the  world,  was  not  equal  to  the 
ideal  which  the  best'  men  now  possessed.  Their  goal 
was  not  the  increase  of  armaments  for  the  purpose  of 
fighting  one  another,  but  the  federation  of  the  leading 
nations  to  form  one  Central  Government  for  the  whole 
world.  Then  I  pointed  out  to-  these  five  hundred  edu- 
cators that  this  could  only  be  done  after  training  all 
schools  and  colleges  in  all  lands  to  work  for  this  ideal. 
If  they  believed  that  this  was  the  best  thing  in  the 
interest  of  humanity  at  large,  I  called  upon  them  as 
educators  to  stand  up  and  pledge  themselves  to  aim 
at  this.  To  my  great  joy,  they  all  rose  in  a  body  in 
token  of  the  appreciation  of  the  importance  of  a  One 
World  Centre.  This  was  two  months  before  the  great 
world  war  was   declared  in  Europe. 

1 8.    Other  Meetings. 

Another  day  the  church  was  overflowing  with  over 
a  thousand  women  and  children  of  all  classes,  from  the 
Governor's  wife  downwards.  During  my  address  I 
referred  to  the  grand  work  done  by  Mrs.  Archibald 
Little  in  helping  to  free  the  hundred  millions  of  Chinese 
women  from  the  cruel  custom  of  footbinding.  I  asked 
them  to  pledge  themselves  to  discontinue  the  custom. 
I  told  them  of  the  Woman's  Magazine  edited  by  Miss 
White  and  published  by  the  C.L.S.  for  the  enlightening 
of  the  women  of  China. 

On  another  occasion  I  had  an  audience  of  six  hundred 
pastors,  evangelists,  Bible  women,  and  schoolmasters.  I 
preached  on  the  four  essentials  of  perfect  education, 
viz.  Heng,  Shu,  Pu,  Chwan  (the  historical,  to  know 
modern  as  well  as  ancient  history  ;  the  comparative,  to 
know  the  teaching  of  the  West  as  well  as  the  East  ; 
the  universal,  to  know  something  of  the  whole  universe  ; 
the  special,  to  know   some   subject  as  experts). 


EVENTS   AND   WORK   OF  LATER  YEARS     363 

At  the  close  of  the  meeting,  a  grandson  of  Tseng 
Kwoh  Fan,  a  cousin  of  Mr.  Nieh,  a  man  of  about 
forty  years  of  age,  came  to  the  guest-room,  where  there 
were  some  fifty  men,  to  whom  he  spoke,  enlarging  on 
my  address.  He  was  an  earnest  Christian  and  leader  of 
an    independent   Church, 

Another  interesting  experience  was  a  reception  given 
me  by  the  Educational  Association  of  Changsha.  Amongst 
the  members  was  a  great  authority  on  electricity,  who  had 
travelled  with  Tuan  Fang's  Commission  round  the  world. 
I  spoke  of  the  two  great  calamities  to  China  during  the 
past  seventy  years,  the  Taiping*  rebellion  and  the  Revolu- 
tion, which  had  caused  terrible  suffering  and  loss  of  life. 
A  strong  central  Government  in  China  was  the  only 
remedy  for  disorders.  The  same  applied  to  the  evils  and 
wars  of  the  world,  only  a  strong  central  Government  for 
the  world  being  able  to  secure  peace  for  mankind.  Mr. 
Nieh's  cousin  at  the  close  gave  a  good  summary  of  my 
work  in  China. 

The  unique  experience  in  this  visit  was  the  fact  that 
the  two  grandsons  of  the  most  illustrious  Chinese  for  the 
last  two  hundred  years  delivered  addresses  of  welcome, 
pointing  out  that  aU  my  work  for  China  had  been  done 
as  a  disciple  of  Jesus  Christ,  who  also  was  their  inspira- 
tion. How  wonderful  had  been  the  great  changes  in 
Hunan  ! 

19.  Second  Marriage. 

In  Auugust  of  1914,  after  eleven  years  of  widowed 
life,  I  was  again  happily  married,  to  Dr.  Ethel  Tribe,  a 
graduate  of  the  London  University.  She  belongs  to  a 
well-known  Nonconformist  family  in  Bristol,  and  has 
been  a  self-supporting  medical  missionary  working  in 
connection  with  the  L.M.S.  in  Amoy  and  Shanghai  for 
nearly  twenty  years. 

20.  A   Trip  to  Java. 

In  December  19 14  my  wife  and  I  left  Shanghai  for  a 
two  months'  visit  to  Java,  for  the  purpose  of  gaining  more 
accurate  information  on  the  Christian  work  carried  on  in 
the  Dutch  East  Indies. 


364  FORTY-FIVE   YEARS   IN   CHINA 

I  found  that  the  islands  had  received  the  impress 
of  eight  different  kinds  of  civilization — the  Primitive, 
the  Hindu,  the  Arab,  the  Portuguese,  the  Dutch,  the 
French,  the  English,  and  the  Chinese. 

Primitive  civilization  still  remains  in  parts  of  Borneo 
and  Celebes,  where  the  custom  of  head -hunting  still 
exists  and  land  is  held  as  common  property.  Any  one 
could  settle  down  on  unoccupied  land  and  call  it  his 
own  till  he  left,  when  the  land  reverted  to  the  permanent 
inhabitants. 

2  1.  Hindu  Civilization. 

Java  being  very  fertile,  Hindu  colonists  from  Southern 
India,  about  twenty  thousand  in  number,  settled  there, 
bringing  with  them  the  art  of  rice  cultivation.  They  also 
introduced  the  Hindu  religion,  with  the  worship  of 
Brahma,  Vishnu,  and  Siva,  and  the  caste  system,  and 
built  temples  at  their  capital  near  the  present  Djokjakarta. 
Later,  Indian  colonists  of  the  Buddhist  faith  who  did  not 
believe  in  caste,  but  in  the  brotherhood  of  man,  came  over 
and  settled  near  the  Hindu  capital  at  Borobudur.  The  two 
sets  of  Hindus  lived  peaceably  with  one  another  while 
the  Malay  race  served  them.  They  translated  the  famous 
Hindu  epics,  the  Mahabarata  and  Ramayana,  into  the 
Kawi  language,  and  these  literary  legacies  are  drawn  on 
by  the  Javanese  in  their  historical  dramas  to  this  day. 

2  2.  Arab  Civilization. 
About  the  time  that  the  Arabs  conquered  Constanti- 
nople, there  was  amongst  those  who  had  spread  eastward 
a  great  revival  resulting  in  the  compulsory  conversion  of 
the  Malay  population  under  threat  of  being  put  to  the 
sword  if  disobedient.  In  this  way  idolatry  was  put  down 
and  the  Moslem  faith  established.  This  movement  spread 
to  Java.  The  Hindu  rulers  were  given  the  option  of 
becoming  Moslems  and  remaining  as  Sultans  or  being 
put  to  the  sword.  They  chose  the  former,  and  their 
descendants  are  the  native  rulers  to  this  day.  The  Arabs 
taught  the  Malays  how  to  manufacture  swords,  and  the 
kris  is  the  chief  weapon  of  the  natives.  They  were  also 
taught  the  Arabic  alphabet   and  the  Koran,  and  acting 


EVENTS  AND  WORK   OF  LATER  YEARS    365 

most  conscientiously  according  to  their  light,  they  de- 
stroyed the  Brahmin  and  Buddhist  temples,  which  were 
full  of  idols. 

23.  Portuguese  Civilization. 

When  the  Portuguese  first  navigated  the  oceans  and 
rounded  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope,  they  were  appointed  by 
the  Pope  masters  of  the  East,  and  the  Spaniards  masters 
of  the  West.  They  had  immense  fleets  of  250  ships 
leaving  Goa  in  a  single  convoy,  which  reached  the 
Moluccas  bringing  back  spices  out  of  which  they  made 
profits  of  300  per  cent.  The  sea  route  they  kept  a 
secret  for  seventy  years.  During  this  period  the 
Portuguese,  besides  trading,  sent  missionaries  to  teach 
religion  and  the  Latin  tongue,  and  introduced  coats  of 
mail  for  protection  against  the  Arab  sword.  They 
intermarried  with  the  natives,  and  their  descendants  are 
Christians. 

24.  Dutch  Civilization. 

In  1660  the  Dutch  discovered  the  sea  route  to  the 
Spice  Islands,  and  became  masters  in  Java.  Following 
the  example  of  Spain  in  America  and  other  European 
countries  elsewhere,  they  thought  that  colonies  were  made 
to  enrich  the  mother  countries.  The  Dutch  Governor- 
General,  Van  den  Bosch,  sent  to  Holland  from  Java  in 
twelve  years  the  enormous  sum  of  2,000,000,000 
florins  (£166,000,000),  thinking  he  was  carrying  out 
a  magnificent  policy.  But  wise  statesmen  realized  later 
that  by  this  policy  they  were  killing  the  goose  that  laid 
the  golden  eggs,  and  they  adopted  a  more  humane  method 
of  dealing  with  the  natives.  They  promulgated  the 
Protestant  religion,  though  still  using  the  Latin  language, 
with  the  result  that  at  Menado  and  other  places  in  the 
Celebes  many  of  the  people  are   Christians. 

During  the  Napoleonic  wars,  not  only  Holland  but 
the  Dutch  colonies  fell  under  French  rule  for  a  short 
time,  during  which  Marshal  Daendel,  the  Napoleon  of 
Java,  built  roads  from  east  to  west. 

The  Governor- General  of  India  then  invaded  Java  as 
a  French  possession,  and  in    1 8 1 1    Stanford  Raffles  was 


366  FORTY-FIVE  YEARS  IN  CHINA 

made  Governor- General  of  the  island.  He  was  a  remark- 
able man,  and  introduced  many  beneficent  reforms 
during  his  short  rule  before  Java  was  returned  once  more 
to  the  Dutch. 

25.  Chinese  Civilization. 

From  the  beginning  of  the  occupation  of  Java  by 
Europeans,  there  were  Chinese  settlers  there,  and  by 
their  superiority  over  the  natives  they  succeeded,  wherever 
they  settled,  in  getting  the  main  business  of  the  district 
into  their  hands.  When  the  Revolution  in  China  was 
brewing  from  1895  onward  till  191 1,  there  arose  a 
new  movement  in  the  East  Indies  for  teaching  the 
Mandarin  language  in  schools  of  Chinese  in  the  leading 
cities  of  Java,  with  the  view  of  linking  the  rich  colonists 
with  the  new  China.  There  are  now  over  a  hundred 
schools  established  in  the  different  cities  there,  some 
of  which  I  visited  in  my  trip.  The  founder  and 
secretary  of  the  schools  was  a  Chinese  named  Dr.  Lim. 

The  Dutch  authorities,  on  seeing  the  rapid  progress 
of  this  educational  movement  among  the  Chinese,  were 
at  first  a  little  alarmed  lest  they  might  create  trouble 
in  Java,  as  they  had  done  before.  But  after  interviewing 
the  leaders,  the  Dutch  have  established  Dutch  and  Chinese 
schools,  from  which  the  best  students  are  sent  to  Holland 
to  complete  their  education.  Dutch  and  Javanese  schools 
have  also  been  opened  with  the  same  object.  The  Dutch 
authorities  are  now  giving  great  care  to  the  ancient 
monuments  that  were  partially  destroyed  by  the  Arabs. 
Amongst  these  the  grandest  is  the  temple  at  Borobudur, 
whose  sculptured  galleries,  if  put  on  end,  would  extend 
nearly  three  miles. 

Another  important  step  taken  by  the  Dutch  is  the 
making  of  experiments  to  provide  sustenance  for  the 
increase  of  population.  In  connection  with  the  Botanical 
Gardens,  which  are  the  largest  in  the  w'orld,  are  experi- 
mental plantations  for  new  developments,  in  addition  to 
tea,  coffee,  quinine,  rubber,  and  other  plants  they  have 
introduced.  As  regards  means  of  communication  there 
is  regular  service  between  the  different  islands. 


CHAPTER    XXI 

MY  CONNECTION  WITH   THE  PEACE 
MOVEMENT 

I.  First  Ideas. 

For  many  years  I  have  been  deeply  interested  in  various 
schemes  to  promote  peace.  I  even  drafted  a  scheme 
for  world  federation  in  one  of  my  notebooks,  as  far 
back  as  1879.  But  it  was  not  till  1895  that  I  first 
broached  the  idea  to  any  one  in  high  authority.  In  an 
interview  with  Chang  Yin  Hwan,  peace  envoy  to  Japan^ 
afterwards  banished  for  his  sympathy  towards  the 
Reformers  in  1898,  I  suggested  amongst  other  advisory 
measures  that  China  should  seek  to  unite  with  other 
Powers  to  form  a  Universal  Arbitration  Court,  by  which 
international   wars   and   militarism    might   be   ended. 

2.  "  League  of  Peace  for  Princes." 

My  next  connection  with  the  Peace  Movement  was 
before  I  returned  to  China  in  1897.  I  had  written  a 
pamphlet  entitled  "  A  League  of  Peace  for  Princes." 
Concluding  that  the  reigning  sovereigns  were  already 
pledged  to  definite  lines  of  policy,  I  hoped  there  would 
be  less  difficulty  in  the  new  ideas  taking  root  in  the 
minds  of  the  younger  princes,  so  that  when,  in  later 
years,  they  came  into  power,  they  might  favour  the 
cause  of  peace.  Copies  of  this  pamphlet  I  therefore 
sent  to  all  the  heirs-apparent  of  Europe.  In  answer, 
the  Prince  of  Wales  sent  me  a  letter  of  acknowledgment 
signed  by  himself.  It  was  a  joy  to  find  him,  when 
Sovereign,   styled   Edward   the    Peacemaker, 

367 


368  FORTY-FIVE   YEARS   IN   CHINA 

3.  "The  Parliament  of  Man." 

After  attending  the  Ecumenical  Conference  in  New 
York  in  1900,  I  went  to  Boston,  where  I  had  been  asked 
to  speak  at  the  Twentieth  Century  Club.  Later,  I 
addressed  a  gathering  of  a  select  few  on  the  subject  of  a 
Parliament  for  mankind.  One  of  my  friends.  Professor 
Ely,  of  Harvard,  who  with  Sir  Patrick  Geddes  was 
organizing  the  American  Branch  of  the  International 
Association  for  the  advancement  of  Science,  urged  me 
to  accompany  him  to  Paris  and  present  the  question 
myself  there  to  those  already  interested  in  international 
organizations.  I  drew  attention  to  the  unrest  in  all 
countries  due  to  political  and  industrial  dangers,  resulting 
in  increase  of  armaments  and  labour  troubles,  and  I 
proposed  that  there  should  be  formed  a  Parliament  of 
Man,  with  representatives  from  all  nations,  to  devise 
measures  for  the  operation  of  law  versus^  brute  force, 
to  secure  an  automatic  provision  for  the  support  of  the 
natural  increase  of  mankind,  and  draw  up  a  system  of 
progressive  education.  I  also  sent  my  address  to  leading 
men  in  Washington,  New  York,  and  Boston. 

4.  Proposal  to  Prince  Konoye. 
In  my  short  trip  to  Japan  in  1903  I  had  an  interview 
with  Prince  Konoye,  during  which  I  broached  the  subject 
of  the  federation  of  ten  leading  nations.  In  my  opinion, 
if  ten  Powers  agreed  to  federate  to  ensure  the  peace 
of  the  world,  any  one  nation  that  oppressed  another, 
or  proposed  to  aggrandize  itself  at  the  expense  of  a 
weaker  nation,  could  be  checked  and  punished  by  the 
combined  armies  of  the  federation.  In  process  of  time 
this  would  lead  to  a  diminution  of  armaments,  and  at 
length  only  such  federated  armies  and  navies  would  be 
kept  up  as  would  be  deemed  necessary  to  police  the 
world.  Prince  Konoye  thought  it  would  be  long  before 
the  Powers  were  ready   for  such  united  action. 

5.  Prince  Ch'ing. 
In    May     1904    I    paid    a    special    visit    to    Peking    in 
order  to  press  certain  reforms  and  to  sound  the  Chinese 


MY  CONNECTION  WITH  PEACE  MOVEMENT    369 

Government  on  the  matter  of  the  federation  of  ten  leading 
nations.  Na  T'ung  was  then  President  both  of  the 
Foreign  Office  and  of  the  Board  of  Revenue,  and  on 
May  7th  I  had  a  special  interview  with  him  on  the 
subject.  The  Russo-Japanese  War  was  in  progress,  and 
there  was  danger  of  China  being  shorn  of  some  of 
her  territory.  If  China  could  join  a  federation  of  ten 
leading  Powers,  her  interests  would  be  safeguarded.  On 
May  1 4th  I  laid  my  scheme  before  two  leading  members 
of  the  Foreign  Office,  a  dozen  secretaries  listening  as 
still  as  mice  till  I  ended.  The  two  Ministers  heartily 
approved  of  all  I  said,  but  they  were  afraid  the  scheme 
was  too  large  a  one  for  China  to  propose.  They  wished 
for  confirmation  of  the  willingness  of  other  nations  to 
join  such  a  federation.  As  the  last  word  in  any  decision 
rested  with  Prince  Ch'ing  they  arranged  that  I  should 
have  a  special  interview  with  him  alone.  I  also  laid 
the  scheme  before  Wu  Ting  Fang  and  Sun  Chia-nai. 
The  latter  remarked  that  the  Tsar's  proposals  to  lessen 
armaments  could  never  succeed  unless  the  principle  of 
reciprocity,  which  was  included  in  my  scheme,  were 
adopted . 

On  May  22nd,  Whit -Sunday,  I  was  to  visit  Prince 
Ch'ing  at  the  I  Ho  Park.  I  slept  little  after  one  o'clock, 
thinking  of  the  coming  interview.  The  country  was 
fine.  There  was  immense  traffic  along  the  road,  partly 
because  of  the  Court  being  at  I  Ho  Park,  partly  because 
it  was  on  the  way  to  Miao  Feng  Shan,  where  many  go 
to  worship, 

I  asked  the  Prince  what  provision  China  had  made 
for  the  next  foreign  war.  He  was  alarmed  at  the 
question,  and  repUed  that  he  hoped  there  would  not  be 
another  war  with  foreigners,  I  replied  that  a  pious 
hope  was  not  equal  to  practical  measures  to  avert  war, 
and  I  laid  before  him  the  scheme  of  the  federation  of 
the  leading  nations. 

The  Prince  listened  attentively  to  all  I  said,  and  at 
the  end  replied  that  the  scheme  seemed  excellent,  but  he 
would  first  like  to  ascertain  from  other  nations  whether 
such  a  scheme  would   be   entertained,   lest   China,   being 

24 


370  FORTY-FIVE   YEARS   IN   CHINA 

a  weak  nation,  might  get  a  rebuff  if  she  were  the  first 
to  propose  it.  This  answer  made  me  feel  my  visit  had 
not  been  in  vain. 

The  next  day  I  drew  up  a  telegram  to  the  President 
of  the  Arbitration  Conference  at  The  Hague,  to  be  sent 
by  the  Wai  Wu  Pu  (Foreign  Ofhce),  if  they  thought 
suitable,  on  the  subject  of  calling  together  a  conference 
of  representatives  of  ten  leading  nations  willing  to 
federate  and  ensure  peace  in  the  world. 

6.  Marquis  Saionje's  Secretary. 

Shortly  after  this  the  Marquis  Saionje,  Prime  Minister 
of  Japan,  visited  Shanghai,  and  sent  his  Secretary  to  see 
me  to  make  inquiries  about  certain  matters  in  China.  I 
took  advantage  of  the  opportunity  to  ask  the  Secretary 
what  the  views  of  the  Marquis  were  on  militarism,  and  I 
outlined  the  scheme  of  federation  which  I  had  proposed 
to  Prince  Ch'ing,  The  Secretary  replied  that  the  Marquis 
was  deeply  concerned  with  the  increased  taxation  im- 
posed on  the  people  in  Japan  in  consequence  of  the 
Russo-Japanese  War,  and  he  felt  sure  the  Marquis  would 
readily  fall  in  with  a  scheme  that  would  put  an  end  to 
the  fear  of  war.  He  added,  however,  that  these  remarks 
were  all  in  confidence  to  me,  and  were  not  to  be  made 
known  to  the  public  while  the  war  with  Russia  was  still  in 
progress.  I  replied  that  he  could  set  his  mind  at  rest, 
as  I  would  not  publish  his  opinion  till  war  was  over. 

7.  Turkish  Prince. 

The  scheme  being  approved  by  the  two  greatest  nations 
of  the  Far  East,  I  decided  to  lay  it  before  the  Peace 
Societies  of  Europe  and  America,  and  proceeded  home. 

On  board  the  German  mail  steamer  I  met  a  Turkish 
prince  of  about  thirty  years  of  age,  who  had  been 
educated  in  England  and  Germany.  One  day  I  discussed 
my  scheme  with  him.  On  the  first  hearing  he  scouted 
the  idea  as  utterly  impracticable.  "  Every  nation  has 
only  one  idea  at  present,"  he  said,  "  and  that  is  to  be 
strong  enough  to  become  more  than  a  match  for  any 
other  nation." 


MY  CONNECTION  WITH  PEACE  MOVEMENT    371 

When  I  told  him  that  the  ultimate  aim  of  each  nation 
was  to  gain  more  control  of  the  face  of  the  earth,  and 
that  by  federation  each  Government  would  share  in  the 
control  of  the  single  nation,  a  feat  impossible  under 
present  circumstances  for  any  single  nation,  he  finally 
admitted  that  both  in  the  interest  of  the  extension  of 
each  nation's  influence  and  in  the  interest  of  inter- 
national peace  the  federation  scheme  was  the  best 
method  he  had  ever  heard.  But  he  remarked  that 
it  would  take  a  long  time  to  educate  people  to  see  the 
advantage  of  it. 

There  was  also  on  board  an  American  war  corre- 
spondent, Mr.  Stanley  Washburn,  whose  father  was 
a  senator.  He  quickly  grasped  all  the  bearings 
of  my  scheme  and  supported  it  with  vigour,  declaring 
that  it  would  change  the  social  and  economic  conditions 
of  the  whole  world  and  be  of  incalculable  benefit  to 
the  human  race. 

8.  Peace  Congress  at  Lucerne. 

In  1905,  when  in  London,  I  met  my  friend  Mr.  Edwin 
Mead,  who  was  President  of  the  Twentieth  Century  Club 
in  Boston,  and  who  had  given  me  letters  of  introduction 
to  the  Government  in  Washington  in  1900.  He  and  his 
wife  were  on  their  way  to  the  Peace  Congress  to  be 
held  that  year  in  Lucerne,  and  they  strongly  urged  me 
to  go  with  them.  As  this  was  on  the  way  to  Genoa, 
where  I  could  catch  the  German  mail  for  China,  I  joined: 
them  and  attended  the  Congress,  which  I  addressed.  I 
told  them  that  during  the  Russo-Japanese  War  I  had 
interviewed  Prince  Ch'ing  and  other  Chinese  statesmen, 
and  later  I  had  had  an  important  talk  with  Marquis 
Saionje's  Secretary.  As  peace  had  been  signed  at  Ports- 
mouth between  Russia  and  Japan,  I  was  at  liberty  to 
speak  of  the  interview,  and  of  the  Secretary's  state- 
ment that  the  Marquis  would  be  willing  if  such  a 
scheme  were  carried  through  for  Japan  to  join  such  a 
federation . 

When  I  announced  this  at  the  Congress,  a  member 
from  Odessa  threw  up   his   arms  and  exclaimed,   "  This 


372  FORTY-FIVE  YEARS  IN  CHINA 

is  the  best  news  we  have  heard  since  the  foundation  of 
the  Peace  Society  !  "  It  was  then  proposed  and  carried 
unanimously  that  the  Berne  International  Bureau  should 
be  requested  to  bring  the  matter  up  before  the  next 
Hague  Conference. 

While  at  Lucerne  I  had  the  pleasure  of  meeting  the 
veteran  founder  of  the  first  Peace  Congress  in  Europe 
and  Baroness  von  Suttner. 

9.  Lord  Weardale. 

In  the  spring  of  1906  Sir  Percy  Bunting:  took  me  to 
see  Lord  Weardale,  who  was  President  of  the  Inter - 
Parliamentary  Union  for  Peace.  He  gave  me  an 
interesting  account  of  what  the  Union  was  doing,  after 
which  Sir  Percy  exclaimed,  *'  It  is  very  strange  that  the 
Press  khows  nothing  of  this  movement."  "  Not  strange," 
replied  Lord  Weardale,  "  for  there  is  a  conspiracy  of 
silence  on  the  part   of  the   Press  about  peace." 

When  I  told  Lord  Weardale  of  the  readiness  of  China 
and  Japan  to  join  a  federation  of  nations,  and  how  the 
news  had  been  received  at  the  Peace  Congress  at 
Lucerne,  he  advised  me  strongly  to  return  to  China  via 
America.  There  I  could  lay  the  matter  of  federation 
before  President  Roosevelt,  who  at  that  moment  com- 
manded the  confidence  of  all  the  world  since  assisting  in 
the  peace  deliberations  between  Russia  and  Japan,  and 
urge  upon  him  the  desirability  of  calling  another  Hague 
Conference  at  an  early  date  and  bringing  the  scheme 
forward  for  its  consideration.  Any  measure  President 
Roosevelt  might  propose  would  be  received  without 
jealousy  by  any  Government.  Acting  on  Lord  Weardale's 
advice,   I   returned   to   China   via   New   York. 

10.  Visit  to  President  Roosevelt. 

On  the  voyage  across  the  Atlantic  I  met  on  board  the 
Gaekwar  of  Baroda,  with  whom  I  had  several  conversa- 
tions. He  was  in  full  sympathy  with  everything  that 
tended  towards  peace  and  the  welfare  of  the  nations. 

In  April  1900  Mr.  Barthold,  the  American  President 
of  the  Inter -Parliamentary  Union,  gave  me  a  letter  of 


MY  CONNECTION  WITH  PEACE  MOVEMENT    373 

introduction  to  President  Roosevelt.  When  I  arrived  at 
the  White  House,  I  found  many  people  there  waiting 
for  interviews.  I  was  shown  in  at  once  to  the  President. 
He  was  not  in  fullest  sympathy  with  the  scheme  of 
federation.  How  far  Lieutenant  Hobson's  agitation  in 
the  chief  cities  of  the  States  for  an  increase  in  the  Navy 
was  responsible  for  this  attitude  I  cannot  tell,  but  it 
is  clear  that  the  poHcy  of  the  United  States  for  increase 
of  armaments  dated  from  this  time.  Whilst  President 
Roosevelt  was  not  prepared  to  take  any  action  himself, 
he  stated  that  if  the  Chinese  Government  would  send  a 
special  envoy  to  the  United  States  to  discuss  the  matter 
he  would  give  it  his  careful  consideration.  This  answer 
was  practically  the  same  as  that  which  1  had  received 
from  Sir  James   Bryce  in  London. 

II.  China's  Changed  Attitude. 

On  returning  to  China  I  iwent  to  Peking  in  the  summer 
of  1906,  and  reported  the  attitude  of  Great  Britain  and 
the  United  States  to  the  Foreign  Office,  urging  them  to 
send  an  envoy  at  once  to  America  and  England.  But 
the  President  of  the  Foreign  Office  was  a  new  man  who 
was  not  in  favour  of  federation,  and  they  were  unwilling 
to  take  any  action  whatever. 

Though  the  Chinese  Government  was  too  timid  to 
respond  to  the  offer  of  President  Roosevelt,  the  Chinese 
delegate  at  the  Hague  Conference  of  1907  distinguished 
himseK  by  asking  a  question  none  could  answer — namely, 
what  would  happen  if  a  State  against  which  war  was 
declared  did  not  wish  to  fight? 

12.  Interview  with  Prince  Ito. 

In  January  1908  I  went  to  Tokyo,  and  Bishop  Harris 
arranged  an  interview  for  me  with  Prince  Ito  in  his 
new  palace  in  Amori.  1  stated  that  my  object  was  to 
interest  him  in  a  scheme  for  federating  the  leading 
nations  of  the  world.  He  Hstened  with  great  interest 
to  the  end,  and  then  said  that  he  had  never  before  heard 
such  a  proposal  and  that  it  was  most  interesting.      He 


374  FORTY-FIVE   YEARS  IN  CHINA 

would  be  glad  to  have  any  papers  I  had  on  the  subject 
for  further  study.  His  reception  of  the  scheme  was 
most  gratifying.  He  did  not  consider  it  impracticable, 
but  merely  difficult. 

Prince  Ito  was  below  the  average  stature  of  Japanese 
and  rather  stout.  His  EngHsh  was  not  fluent  ;  he  spoke 
with  much  deliberation,  as  if  weighing  every  word  he 
uttered. 

In  his  early  days,  after  returning  from  abroad,  he 
was  most  anxious  for  speedy  reforms  of  all  kinds,  and 
in  consequence  was  greatly  hated  by  all  Conservatives. 
At  one  time  they  were  determined  to  kill  him,  and  he 
had  to  flee  from  pursuit.  The  story  of  his  escape  is 
a  rare  one.  He  took  refuge  in  a  teashop,  and  asked 
the  girl  in  charge  to  hide  him.  She  removed  some 
planks  in  the  floor,  revealing  the  rubbish-hole  below. 
"  Hide  quickly  in  this  dustbin,"  she  said.  When  he 
was  safely  inside,  she  replaced  the  planks  and  lifted  the 
hibachi  (charcoal-box  with  water  boiling  at  the  top) 
over  the  spot  where  he  lay  hidden.  When  his  pursuers 
came  in  they  found  the  girl  sitting  at  the  hibachi,  her 
usual  place.  They  asked  her  where  the  man  who  had 
come  in  was.  She  told  them  they  were  welcome  to 
search  the  whole  place.  Their  search  was  in  vain,  and 
they  soon  left  to  seek  him  elsewhere.  In  gratitude  for 
her  help  in  his  need  Ito  made  the  girl  his  wife.  She 
is  now  Princess  Ito.  Such  was  the  romantic  story  ,of 
his  marriage. 

Before  I  left  the  Prince  was  good  enough  to  show 
us  the  hall  in  which  the  Cabinet  had  met  regularly  to 
frame  the  Constitution,  and  where  violent  discussions  had 
taken  place  in  regard  to  the  clause  relating  to  religious 
liberty.  (The  story  of  it  is  given  in  the  chapter  on 
Higher  Buddhism.) 

A  few  days  after  this  Mr.  Bowles,  Secretary  of  the 
Peace  Society  in  Japan,  brought  a  dozen  leading 
Japanese  to  see  me.  Among  them  were  the  Japanese 
Minister  to  Brazil  and  the  Professor  of  International  Law 
in  the  Imperial  University.  I  gave  them  an  outline  of 
what  I  had  been  able  to  do  in  the  cause  of  peace. 


MY  CONNECTION  WITH  PEACE  MOVEMENT    375 

13.  Mr.  Carnegie's  Speech  at  the  Guildhall. 

In  May  1910  I  was  invited  to  speak  at  the  annual 
meeting  of  the  Peace  Society  in  London.  That  very 
same  day  Mr.  Carnegie  delivered  before  a  great  gathering 
at  the  Guildhall  his  famous  Peace  lecture,  in  which  he 
announced  that  President  Taft  was  willing  to  submit  to 
arbitration  all  international  problems  that  could  not  be 
settled  by  diplomacy,  without  reserving,  as  had  hitherto 
been  the  custom,  any  point  of  honour  to  be  decided  by 
the  nation  itself.  This  policy,  if  accepted  by  the  United 
States  and  followed  by  other  nations,  will  be  a  distinct 
step  forward   in   the   direction   of   universal  peace. 

Next  day  the  Morning  Post  had  a  leader  on  the  views 
of  Mr.  Carnegie  and  myself,  in  which  it  was  stated  that  I 
had  "  gone  down  to  the  bed-rock  of  the  whole  question 
of  peace." 

The  chief  points  in  my  address  before  the  Peace 
Society  are  contained  in  the  following  : — 

Let  ten  of  the  leading  nations  of  the  earth  federate  on 
the  basis  of  reciprocity  and  equal  opportunity,  all  pre- 
pared to  lay  down  international  difficulties  before  the 
Supreme  Court  of  the  federated  world,  and  let  there 
be  one  army  and  navy  to  enforce  the  decision  of  this 
Supreme  Court  for  the  justice  and  peace  of  the  world  ; 
and  last,  but  not  least,  let  the  nations  who  will  not 
federate  be  submitted  to  a  high  tariff,  while  the  rest  of 
the  world  is  free. 

14.  Treaty  of  Arbitration. 

On  April  29,  191 1,  at  a  meeting  in  the  Guildhall, 
London,  Mr.  Asquith,  the  Premier,  proposed,  and  Mr. 
Balfour,  an  ex -Premier,  seconded,  a  proposition  that  a 
Treaty  of  Arbitration  be  made  between  England  and  the 
United  States  whereby  no  war  in  future  shall  take  place 
between  these  two  nations.  Thus  the  first  practical  step 
towards  Universal  Peace  seemed  to  be  about  to  take 
place,  and  matters  of  honour,  which  were  reserved  for 
each  nation  to  decide  for  itself  in  the  past,  were  now 
for  the  first  time  to  be  submitted  to  arbitration. 


376  FORTY-FIVE   YEARS  IN   CHINA 

15.  The  Great  European  War. 

Instead  of  the  subject  of  International  Federation  being 
brought  up  at  the  Hague  Conference  of  1907,  the 
academic  question  of  whether  might  was  right  was  intro- 
duced by  the  German  delegates,  and  the  morahty  of 
might  was  left  an  open  question,  with  the  disastrous 
consequences  of  the  declaration  of  war  in    191 4. 

Seeing  how  practically  all  nations  had  become 
involved  in  it,  I  became  more  than  ever  convinced  that 
only  by  federation  could  war  be  prevented  in  the  future. 
I  therefore  wrote  a  leaflet  called  "  The  Only  Certain 
Way  to  Prevent  War  in  the  Future,"  which  I  sent  to 
leading  men  in  England,  America,  and  the  Far  East. 
Since  writing  it  I  have  found  that  thoughtful  minds  at 
home,  Guyot,  Lowes  Dickinson,  Lord  Acton,  and  count- 
less others,  have  been  occupied  by  the  same  problem. 
The  leading  periodicals  of  England  and  America  have 
strongly  advocated  one  central  authority  as  the  only 
effectual  solution  of   the   problem   of  war. 

As  far  back  as  1870  Mr.  Gladstone  said,  "  The  greatest 
triumph  of  our  time  will  be  the  enthronement  of  the  idea 
of  public  right  as  the  governing  idea  of  European 
politics."  Mr.  Asquith,  in  his  speech  at  Dublin  in 
September  191  5,  said  that  the  end  to  be  kept  in  view  was 
"  the  idea  of  public  right."  By  this  he  meant  "  the 
substitution  for  force,  for  the  clash  of  competing  ambition, 
for  groupings  and  alliances,  and  a  precarious  equipoise, 
of  a  real  European  partnership,  based  on  the  recognition 
of  equal  right  and  established  and  enforced  by  a 
common  will." 

But  a  mere  European  partnership  will  only  be  patch- 
work. That  which  will  give  universal  peace  must  include 
the  United  States  of  America,  China,  and  Japan,  and 
be  based  on  a  common  recognition  of  God  as  the  great 
Ruler   in   the   affairs    of   men. 


INDEX 


The  Roman  fii^urcs  iiidicalc  the  chapter,  the  Arabic  the  paragraph.  There 
is  no  one  recognized  system  of  spelling  of  Chinese  names,  the  Consular  authorities 
adopting  one  system  of  spelling,  and  the  Postal  authorities  adopting  another. 
This  index  follows  the  Consular  system. 


Aberduar,  I,  2,  20 

Achilles,  II,  I,  30 

Accrington,  VII,  7 

Acton,  Lord,  XXI,  15 

Adam,  III,  10 

Adams,  Brooke,  XIX,  3 

Addis,  IX,  2,  7 

Africa,  III,  10,  VII,  5 

Agra,  XIV,  4,  XVIII,  2 

Ajax,  VII,  4 

Alexandra,  XIX,  4 

Allen,  Dr.  Young  J.,  II,  16,  V,  18,  IX, 

2,  4,  X,  2,  3,  XI,  I,  2,  XII,  8,  9 
Amano,  Mr.,  VIII,  8 
America,  II,  20 

American  Baptist  Mission,  II,  5 
American    Church    Mission,    IX,   9, 

XX,  15 
American   Methodist   Mission,  VIII, 

14,  IX,  2 
American   Presbyterian    Mission,  II, 

5,  IV,  10,  V,  27,  VIII,  10 
Amida,  XIX,  2 
Amitabha,  XIII,  4 
Ananda,  XIII,  10 
Andersen,  Mrs,  N.  P.,  IV,  12 
Angelini,  VI,  12 
Anhui,  III,  I 

Anti-P'ootbinding  Society,  IX,  8 
Arabs,  III,  10,  XX,  21 
Archbishop  of  Canterbury,  V,  13 
Argyll,  XVIII,  7 
Arsenal,  Shanghai,  II,  21 
Ashmore,  Dr.,  XI,  i,  XV,  6 
Ashvagosha,  XIX,  i 
Asquith,  Mr.,  XXI,  14,  15 
Assisi,  Francis  of,  II,  21 
Athanasius,  III,  6 


Avvdry,  Bishop,  XIX,  2 
Ayrton,  Pi'ofessor,  VII,  il 

Bac,  Rue  de,  XIV,  i 

Bacon's  Essays,  IV,  12 

Balfour,  Mr.,  XXI,  14 

Bailer,  Mr.,  V,  14 

Baptist  Missionary  Society,  I,  8,  II, 

14,  16,  IV,  10,  22,  V,  10,  31,  VII,  4, 

VIII,3,i5,  IX,  2 
Barren,  Mr.,  VII,  7 
Barthold,  Mr.,  XXI,  10 
Baynes,  Mr.,  V,  10,  XIV,  7,  VIII,  3 
Benares,  XIII,  i,  XIV,  3 
Bentley,  Mrs.,  II,  4 
Berlin,  VII,  12 
Bethel,  I,  i 

Bevan,  Professor,  XVI,  10 
Bland,  Mr.  J.  O.  P.,  XVII,  5 
Blodget,  Dr.,  XI,  i,  2 
Bolton,  Mr.,  XVII,  9 
Bombay,  XIV,  4 
Borobudur,  XX,  20 
Bosch,  Van  den,  XX,  23 
Boston,  XV,  5 
Boucher,  Pere,  VIII,  i 
Bourne,  Cardinal,  XVII,  4 
Bowden-Smith,  Miss,  XX,  6 
Bowser,  Mr.  Howard,  VII,  7 
Box,  Rev.  Ernest,  XIII,  I 
Boxers,  XV,  XVI,  r,  XVII,  5 
Brahma,  XX,  20 

Brown,  Dr.  William,  II,  8,  16,  23 
Buckland,  Rev.  A.  R.,  XVIII,  8 
Budd,  Mr.,  V,  16 
Buddhism,  XIX,  i,  2,  13 
Bunting,  Sir  Percy,  XVIII,  4,  5,  XIX, 

5,  XXI,  9 


377 


378 


INDEX 


Bunyo  Nanjo,  VII,  3 
Burgevine,  VI,  21 
Burmah,  II,  23 
Bushnell,  Horace,  I,  8 

Caio,  I,  I 

Calcutta,  XIV,  3 

Cambridge,  XX,  6 

Carapagnac,  Mrs.,  VII,  7 

Canadian  Presbyterian  Mission,  IX, 

2 
Canterbury,   Arctibishop  of,    V,    13, 

XVIII,  3,  6 
Cantlic,  Dr.,  XXI,  3 
Canton,   IV,   18,  VI,    i,    20,   21,   22, 

VIII,  8,  XV,  I,  10,  XVI,  13 
Capel,  Mr.,  V,  16 
Carey,  William,  VII,  7,  XIV,  3 
Carmarthenshire,  I,  i,  XIV,  3 
Carmichael,  Dr.,  IV,  8,  18 
Carnegie,  Mr.,  XXI,  13 
Cassini,  Count,  X,  i 
Cecil,  Lord  William,  XVIII,  5,  7 
Celebes,  XX,  23 

Centenary  Conference,  XVIII,  6 
Chang  Chih-tung,  VI,  8,  16,  20,  22, 

27,  VIII,  12,  13,  IX,  5,  X,  2,  3,  5,  6, 

8,  XI,  23,  XII,  8,  XVI,  9,  XVIII, 

6c 
Chang  Kia-poo,  XIII,  7 
Chang  Lo,  IV,  13 
Chang  Pao-hsi,  XVI,  7 
Chang  Pei-lun,  VI,  16 
Chang  Tung-fu,  XVII,  4 
Chang  Yin-huan,  X,  7,  XII,  5,  10,  15, 

XXI,  I 
Changsha,  XII,  3,  XX,  14 
Chao  Erh-hsun,  XVI,  14 
Chefoo,  II,  3,  4,  7,  8,  10,  II,  14, 17,21, 

22-24,  m.  i>  I3>  IV,  8,  12,  18,   19, 

V,  15,  VI,  12,  VII,  I,  VIII,  ID,  IX,  I, 
XIII,  13 

Chekiang,  VI,  21,  XX,  15 

Ch'en  Fai-t'ing,  XVII,  5 

Ch'cn  Pao-Ch'un,  XII,  15 

Chengtii,  XV,  9 

Chicago,  I,  9,  XX,  4 

Ch'ien  Lung,  Emperor,  Xlll,  4 

Chihli,  II,  27,  IV,  17,  V,  2,  7,  13,  26, 

VI,  19,  XV,  4 

China  Inland  Mission,  I,  10,  V,  7,  12, 
13,  15,  27,  XIV,  2,  XX,  15 


Chi-nan  fu,  II,  17,  21,  22,  26,  IV,  6, 
VI,  12,  14,  15,  17,  VII,  6,  VIII,  10, 
XVII,  10,  II,  XVIII,  9 

China  Missions  Emergency  Com- 
mittee, XVI 1 1,  5,  7 

Chinese  Book  and  Tract  Society,  IX,  i 

Chinese  Public  School,  IX,  7,  XVII,  5 

Chinese  Recorder,  VI,  24 

Ch'in  Chih,  XII,  2,  9,  15 

Ch'ing,  Mrs.,  XII,  16 

Ch'ing,  Pastor,  II,  7,  18,  23,  V,  i,  VI, 
21 

Ch'ing,  Prince,  XV,  10,  XVI,  i,  13, 
XVII,  1,9,  XVIII,  3,  XXI,  5 

Ch'ing-chow  fu,  III,  2,  IV,  V,  i,  2, 
VI,  I,  13-18,  VII,  6,  VIII,  10, 
XVII,  10,  XX,  10,  12,  XVIII,  9 

Ch'ing  Hwang,  IV,  25 

Ching-hsien,  XIII,  6,  9 

Ching  Liang,  XIII,  10 

Ching  Lien  Shan,  XII,  16 

Chinkiang,  II,  25 

Chin-Kwoh,  XIII,  15 

Chino-Japanese  War,  X,  I 

Chiu,  IV,  3 

Chivers,  Dr.,  I,  6 

Chow  Fu,  XV,  I,  9,  XVII,  2,  4,  10,  II 

Chow  Han,  XX,  14 

Christ,  III,  10,  XIX,  10 

Chu,  Mr.,  XVII,  5 

Ch'un,  Prince,  VI,  20,  VIII,  6,  XVII, 
I,  XX,  4 

Chungking,  XV,  9 

Chung  Wang,  VI,  21 

Church  Missionary  Society,  IX,  2 

Coltman,  Dr.,  VIII,  10 

Comber,  VII,  5 

Congo,  II,  4 

Conwil  Elvet,  I,  5 

Corbett,  Dr.  Hunter,  II,  5,  24 

Cornell,  XX,  6 

Cousins,  Mr.,  XVII,  9 

Crickmay,  Miss,  V,  14,  28 

Crossett,  Rev.,  II,  20,  21 

Cross  Inn,  1,4 

Culross,  Dr.,  VII,  7 

C/.ar,  VIII,  13 

Daendel,  Marshall,  XX,  24 
Darroch,  Rev.  J.,  XVI,  6 
David,  I,  5 
Davis,  Dr.,  I,  2 


INDEX 


379 


Delhi,  XIV,  3,  4 
Denby,  Col.,  IX,  6,  XI,  7 
Dengyo  Daishi,  V,  21,  XIX,  3,  5 
Diamond   Sutra,    III,    9,    XIII,    14, 

XX,  16 
Djokjakarta,  XX,  21 
Dominicans,  VI,  i 
Drake,  Mr.,  V,  27 
Dublin,  XXI,  15 
Dubs,  Dr.,  XX,  15 
Dudgeon,  Dr.,  II,  21,  VIII,  6 
Duncan,   Dr.   Moir,  XVI,    2,  3,   10, 

Dunedin,  II,  23 

Dutch  East  Indies,  XX,  20 

East  Asia  League,  XVII,  6a 
East  India  Company,  VI,  i 
Ecumenical      Conference,     XV,     4, 

XXI,  3 

Edinburgh  Conference,  XVIII,  10 
Edinburgh  Conference  Continuation 

Committee,  XVIII,  11 
Edkins,  Dr.,  VI,  24,  VIII,  6,  IX,  4,  8 
Edward  VII,  King,  XVII,  i 
Edwards,  Dr.,  VIII,  2 
Egypt,  III,  10,  XIX,  3 
Eitel,  Dr.,  111,6 
Eldorado,  II,  21 
Elliston,  Mr.,  VI,  3 
Ely,  Professor,  XXI,  3 
Emperor,   Chinese,   XII,    10-13,    16, 

XVI,  13,  XVII,  I,  XX,  4 
Empress-Dowager,  IX,  6,  X,  i,  XI,  6, 

XII,  6,  II,  13,  16,  XVI,  13,  XVII,  I, 

3,8,  II,  XX,  4,  6 
En,  Governor,  XVI,  14 
Europe,  III,  10 
Evangelical  Alliance,  W,  24 
Exeter  Hall,  VII,  4 

Faber,  Dr.,  V,  18,  IX,  2,  4 
Fang  Kwang,  XIII,  11 
Fullerton,  Rev.  W.  Y.,  XVIII,  8 

Gore,  Bishop,  XVIII,  3 

Graves,  Bishop,  IX,  y 

Green,  Dr.,  VII,  7 

Groot,  V,  22 

Grosvenor  Baptist  Church,  II,  7 

Guyot,  XXI,  15 

Guinness,  Grattan,  Mrs.,  I,  8 


Hai  ChaoSu,  XIII,  4,  16 

Hail,  Carey,  XIX,  2 

Hall,  Dr.,  11,4 

Hanbury,  Sir  Thomas,  IX,  5 

Hangchow,  XII,  i,  XIII,  4,  11,  XIX, 

3.  XX,  5 
Hankow,  II,  23,  V,  7,  XI,  2 
Hanneken,  Mr.  Von,  X,  i 
Hanover,  XIV,  5 
Harris,  Bishop,  XIX,  2 
Hart,  Sir  Robert,  II,  25,  V,  4,  VI,  6, 

25,  27,  X,  7,  XVI,  I,  XVIII,  7 
Hartvvell,  Rev.  J.  B.,  II,  5 
Haverfordwest,  I,  7 
Hay,  Mr.  John,  XV,  6 
Hearn,  Lafcadio,  XIX,  9 
Henderson,  Dr.,  II,  26 
Hengtung,  V,  5,  13 
Hill,  Rev.  David,  II,  5,   V,   12,    16, 

17,  19,  22,  25,   VI,   12,  VII,  2,  6, 

XI,  2 
Hinayana  School,  XIX,  i 
Hobson,  Dr.,  VI,  5 
Holcombe,  Mr.,  VI,  25 
Holmes,  Mrs.,  II,  25 
Holwell,  Mr.,  IV,  18 
Holy  Land,  II,  21 
Honan,  II,  27 
Hongkong,  II,  3 
Ho-Kai,  Dr.,  XX,  2 
Home,  Miss,  V,  14,  28 
Hsi,  IV,  20 
Hsi,  Pastor,  V,  25 
Hsien  Feng,  Emperor,  XI,  6 
Hu  T'ung,  XI,  4 
Huang  Hsing,  XVI,  13 
Hughes,  Miss,  VIII,  i 
Hui  Lung  Shan,  II,  13 
Hunan,  XX,  14 
Hung  Hsui  Chuen,  VI   21 
Hupeh,  VI,  22 
Hwa  Ting,  XIII,  13 
Hwa  Yen-an,  XX,  11 

Idzumo,  XIX,  9 

Hi,  VI,  16 

Illingworth,  Mr.  Alfred,  VII,  7 
India,  III,  10,  V,  21,  XIV,  1-4,  XIX,  3 
Irish  Presbyterian  Mission,  VII,  9 
Iron  Pillar,  XIII,  4 
Irving,  Edward,  IV,  19 
Islam,  III,  10 


380 


INDEX 


Ito,  Prince,  XII,  12,  13,  XIX,  11,  XX, 

I,  2,  XXI,  12 
I  Tu,  IV,  13,  18 
Iwawashi,  XIX,  6 

James,  Rev.,  XVIII,  i 

James,  Rev.  F.  Huberty,  V,  7,  14,  VJ, 

18,  22,  23,  28,  XVII,  2d 
Jamieson,  Mr.  George,  IV,  18 
Jansen,  Mr.,  IX,  7 
Japan,  V,  3,  7,  VIII,  i,XII,  14,  16, 

XVI,  8,   XVII,  6rt,   XIX,   2,   5,  7, 

II,  12,  XX,  4 

Jardine,  Matheson  &  Co.,  II,  25,  VII,  i 
Java,  XX,  19-24 
Jedadaiah,  I,  i 

Jerusalem,  II,  21,  XIII,  i,  XIX,  9 
Jessop,  Mr.  Morris  K.,  XV,  6 
Jesuits,  V,  18,  19,  VI,  I 
Jewell,  Mrs.,  VIII,  14 
Jews,  III,  I 
Joe,  II,  25 

John,  Dr.  Griffith,  I,  i,  II,  5,  XI,  i,  2 
Johnstone,  Mr.,  VI,  4 
Jones,  Mr.  Alfred  G.,  IV,  19,  V,  i, 
VI,  13,  15,  22,  VII,  I,  6,  9,  VIII,  9, 

XVII,  10 

Jones,  Rev.  Daniel,  XVIII,  i 

Jones,  David,  I,  i 

Jones,  Kelsby,  I,  2 

Joppa,  II,  21 

Joshua,  I,  2,  4,  5 

Jubilee  Singers,  VI,  6 

Jui,  Treasurer,  X,  6 

Julien,  VII,  3 

Jung  Lu,  XII,  II,  13,  XV,  I,  XVII,  26 

Kabul,  V,  21 

Kalgan,  VI,  28 

Ka-li-zen,  XIII,  3 

Kamakura,  XIII,  9,  XIX,  8 

Kan  Wang,  VI,  21 

K'ang  Hsi,  VI,  i 

K'ang  Kwang-in,  XII,  14 

Kang  Yi,  XII,6,  XV,  1,3 

K'ang  Yu-wei,  XII,  i,  8,  10,    12-15, 

XV,  3,  XX,  2,  6 
Kansu,  VI,  6,  22 
Kao,  Mr.,  XVI,  15 
Kao  Shing,  X,  i 
Kao  Ta  Ling,  V,  30 
Kasgapa,  XIII,  10 


K'i  Shin  Lun,  VII,  3 

Kiangse,  XX,  9,  V,  22 

Kiangsu,  III,  3 

Kiangsu  Relief  Committee,  V,  18 

Kiao-chow,  XV,  2 

Kien  Ch'ang,  II,  10^ 

Kikuchi,  Baron,  XVII,  da 

Kin  Tan  Chiao,  V,  25 

King,  Miss,  IX,  8 

King  Shih-wen,  XI,  5 

King  Shin,  XII,  6 

King  Shin  luh.  III,  g 

Kingdon,  Rev.,  II,  4 

Kitts,  Rev.,  VI,  14,  17 

Kloeckers,  Rev.,  II,  4 

Kobe,  XIX,  7 

Kobo  Daishi,  V,  21,  XIX,  3,  5,  7 

Konoye,  Prince,  XVII,  6a,  XXI,  4 

Koran,  III,  10 

Korea,  II,  lo-io^,  lo/i,  XX,  i 

Korean  Proclamation,  VI,  25 

Koyo  San,  XIX,  6 

Kranz,  Pastor,  VII,  3 

K'u,  VI,  16 

Kung,  Prince,  VI,  16,  20,  X,  7,  XI,  3, 

4,  6,  XII,  5,  6,  II 
Kuo  Lao  Hui,  XII,  5 
Kutab  Minar,  XIV,  4 
Kwangtung,  VI,  22 
Kwan-ti,  XIII,  17 
Kwanyin,  XIII,  16,  XIX,  6 
Kweichow,  IV,  7,  XX,  16 
Kwei  Chun,  XV,  9 
Kwei  Hwa  Ch'ing,  V,  31 
Kwoh,  Ambassador,  V,  10 
Kwoh  Ching,  XIII,  13,  16 
Kwoh  Sung-t'ao,  X,  6 
Kwoh  Tze-yi,  V,  21 

Lai  Sun,  Mrs.,  IV,  12 
Lai  Yang,  II,  15,  16 
Lamas,  VI,  i,  10,  VIII,  9 
Lambeth,  XVIII,  3 
Lampeter,  I,  i 
Lancaster,  Miss,  V,  28 
Landale,  Mr.,  V,  27,  28 
Landells,  Dr.,  I,  7 
Lao  Ch'eng,  II,  ioZ> 
Lao  Shan,  XX,  11,  12 
Laughton,  Rev.,  II,  3,  4 
Laymen's  Movement,  XIV,  9 
Lazarists,  V,  19 


INDEX 


381 


Lazarus,  Mrs.,  XIV,  3 

Lees,  Rev.  Jonathan,  V,  26 

Legge,  Dr.,  111,9 

Lewis,  Joshua,  I,  i 

Li,  Lord,  XII,  2 

Li,  Mr.,  II,  26 

Li  Ch'ing-mai,  X,  8 

Li  Hung-chang,  III,  I,  V,  2,  13,  17, 
26,  VI,  22,  27,  VIII,  3,  6, 13,  IX,  15, 
X,2,XI,3,4,8,XII,4,  5,7,XIV,  I, 
XV,  I,  9,  10,  XVI,  I,  XVII,  26 

Li  Hung-tsao,  XI,  6 

Li  T'i-mo-t'ai,  II,  7 

Li  Yoh,  VI,  7 

Liang  Ch'i-ch'ao,  XII,  2,8, 9, 13,  XX,6 

Liang  T'ung-yen,  X,  5 

Lilley,  Mr.  Robert,  II,  5,9,  loa,  17,  23 

Lim,  Dr.,  XX,  25 

Lin  Shao,  XII,  14 

Lin  Ying,  Sz,  XIII,  4 

Ling  Fen,  V,  13 

Ling  Kai,  II,  loc 

Ling  Ku,  IV,  5 

Little,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Archibald,  IX,  8, 
XIX,  5 

Liu,  Mr.,  II,  15,  18 

Liu  K'ien-yi,  XVII,  i 

Liu  King-k'ai,  II,  10/ 

Liu  Kwang-ti,  XII,  14 

Llanbyther,  I,  i 

Llethercoch,  I,  i 

Lloyd,  Professor,  XIX,  2,  4,  5 

Lockhart,  Dr.,  11,22 

London,  XIV,  5,  XVIII,  2 

London  Mission,  V,  7,  IX,  2,  9,  XX,  3 

London  University,  XX,  19 

Lo-ngan,  IV,  3 

Lord  Mayor  of  London,  V,  13 

Lotus  Scripture,  XIII,  i,  XIX,  3,  4-6 

Lowes-Dickinson,  Mr.,  XXI,  15 

Lowry,  Dr.,  XI,  8 

Lo  Yang,  V,  21 

Lu  Ch'uan-lin,  XII,  26,  2c 

Lu  Tsu,  II,  24 

Lu  Tung-pin,  V,  22 

Lucerne,  XXI,  8 

Ma,  Viceroy,  XX,  8 
Macalister,  Professor,  XVIII,  5 
Macao,  XII,  14,  16 
Macartney,  Mr.,  VI,  i 
MacGillivray,  Dr.,  XIV,  10 


Mackay,  Dr.,  XIV,  10 

Mackenzie,  Dr.,  X,  6 

Madras,  XIV,  2 

Mahayana  School,  XIX,  I,  4 

Main,  Dr.,  XIII,  4 

Malays,  XX,  21 

Manchester,  II,  7 

Manchuria,  II,  10,  10a,  IV,  17,  V,  6, 

VII,  9,  XVII,  8 
Mansion  House  Relief  Fund,  V,  13,  16 
Manwyne,  II,  23 
Margary,  Mr.,  II,  23 
Marquis  of  Bute,  V,  18 
Marseilles,  XIV,  3 
Martin,  Dr.,  V,  18,  XII,  4,  XIX,  13 
Martin,  Miss  Mary,  V,  15 
Mateer,  Dr.  Calvin,  II,  5 
Mauritius,  II,  2 
Mcllvaine,  Mr.,  II,  20,  26 
Mclntyre,  Mr.,  II,  17,  22 
McKim,  Bishop,  XIX,  2 
McMechan,  Mr.,  II,  4 
Mead,  Mr.  Edwin,  XXI,  8 
Mecca,  XIII,  i 
Mecklenburg  Haus,  XX,  li 
Medhurst,  Dr.,  IX,  6 
Merchant  Company  School,  V,  15 
Michie,  Mr.,  II,  21 
Miller,  XIV,  2 

"  Mission  to  Heaven,"  XIX,  10 
Missionary  Conference,  1890,  II,  5, 

V,  24 
Miyajima,  XIX,  5 

Mohammedans,  II,  19,  III,  10,  VI,  7 
Moluccas,  XX,  23 
Mongolia,  VI,  12,  28 
Morgan,  Rev.  Evan,  XVI,  7 
Morris,  Rev.  W.,  VIII,  15 
Morrison,  Dr.,  VI,  24 
Mott,  Dr.  John,  XVIII,  9,  11 
Moukden,  II,  lofc,  loc,  IX,  4,  XVII,  4 
Moule,  Bishop,  II,  3,  XI,  i 
Muirhead,  Dr.,  IX,  6 
Murdoch,  Dr.,  XIV,  2 
Miiller,  Max,  VII,  3 
Murray,  Mr.  D.  S.,  IX,  i 
"  Music,  Chinese,"  VI,  8 

Na  T'ung,  XVII,  66,  9,  XXI,  5 
Nanking,  V,  18,  VI,  6,  VII,  2,  3,  IX,  4, 

X,  3-6,  8,  XII,  I,  XV,  10,  XVII,  4, 

XVIII,  9,  XX,  5 


382 


INDEX 


Napier,  Lord,  VI,  i 

Nestorians,  V,  22,  XIX,  5 

Nevius,  Dr.,  II,  5,  24,  IV,  10,  17,  V, 

17 
New  Inn,  I,  2 
New  Ross,  IV,  19 

New  York,  II,  5,  XV,  4,  6,  XVIII,  10 
New  Zealand,  II,  23,  VI,  12 
Newchwang,  II,  4,  11,  XVII,  8 
Ngai,  VI,  12 
Nichiren  Sect,  XIX,  3,  4 
Nieh,  Governor,  IX,  5 
Nietzsche,  XX,  6 
Nikolai,  Arclibishop,  XIX,  2 
"Nineteenth  Century,"  Mackenzie's, 

IX,  4,  X,  2,  3,  7,  8,  XI,  6,  XIV,  6 
Ninghai,  II,  14 
Ningpo,  II,  4,  5 
Ning  Wu,  VI,  4 
Normal  School,  Swansea,  I,  2 
Nottingham,  XVIII,  4 
Nystrom,  Professor,  XVI,  2 

Oberlin  Band,  I,  271 

O'Connor,  Sir  Nicholas,  IX,  6,  XI,  6, 

7,  XII,  13 
Odessa,  XXI,  8 
Ohlmer,  Dr.,  XX,  13 
Okuma,  Count,  XIX,  12 
Omito  Foh,  XIII,  16 
Owen,  Rev.  George,  XII,  15 
Oxns,VUl,  I 

Pao-ting  fu,  XVI,  7,  XVII,  2 

Paris,  XIV,  5,  XX,  4 

Parkes,  Sir  Harry,  VI,  22,  23,  27 

Paton,  Dr.  John  B.,  XVIII,  4 

Payne,  Captain,  II,  21 

Peddie,  Dr.,  V,  15 

Pehtaiho,  XII,  13 

Peking,  II,  4,  21,  22,  V,  16,  26,  VI,  23, 
IX,  4,  XI,  XII,  XIII,  2,  XV,  I,  4, 
XVI,  I,  13,  XVII,  I,  2a,  2d,  7,  9, 
XIX,  13,  XX,  6,  15 

Pembrokeshire,  I,  i,  7 

P'eng  Admiral,  VI,  22 

Penygroes,  I,  2 

Persia,  V,  21 

Pethick,  Mr.,  XI,  3,  4,  XII,  2 

Piggott,  Mr.,XI,  3,  4 

P'ingyang  fu,  V,  13,  16,  17,  22,  27 

Pope,  XIII,  2,  XX,  22 


Port  Arthur,  X,  I 
Pott,  Dr.  Hawks,  XVII,  5 
Presbyterian  Mission,  II,  7 
Prince  of  Wales,  XXI,  2 
Puchow  fu,  V,  5 
Pulsford,  Rev.,  II,  16 
Pumsaint,  I,  i 

Queen   Victoria's   Diamond    Jubilee, 

XII,  10 

Raffles,  Sir  Stanford,  XX,  24 

Red    Cross     Society,    International, 

XVII,  8 
Rees,  Mr.,  I,  8 
Rees,  Rev.  Lambert,  IX,  9 
Reform  Society,  XII,  i,  2,  7,  8 
Reid,  Dr.  Gilbert,  XII,  2,  XX,  7,  9 
Ricci,  Matteo,  VI,  i,  5 
Richard,  Mrs.  T.,  V,  28-30,  VI,  7,  8, 

12,  VIII,  2,  6,  8,  IX,  6,  XII,  9,  XVI, 

15,  XVIII,  7 
Richard,  Timothy,  I,  i 
Ripon,  Bishop  of,  XVIII,  7 
Robertson  of  Brighton,  Dr.,  II,  7 
Robertson,  Professor,  VI,  17 
Rodwell,  III,  10 
Roman  Catholics,  V,  3,  4,  6,  13,  16, 

18,  VI,  12,  VIII,  I,  4 
Roosevelt,  President,  XXI,  9,  10 
Rouse,  Dr.,  I,  6 
Russia,  V,  9,  26,  X,  I,  7 
Russo-Japanese  War,  XVII,  8 

Sa  Ur  Hu,  II,  lod 
Saionje,  Marquis,  XXI,  6 
Sakyamuni,  XIII,  4,  10,  16,  XIX,  4,  7 
Salem,  I,  i 

Sales,  Francis  de.  III,  9 
Salisbury,  Lord,  XV,  7 
Schael,  VI,  i 

Schofield,  Dr.,  V,  27,  28,  VI,  16,  20 
Scotch  Bible  Society,  II,  5,  9 
Scott,  Bishop,  V,  16,  XIII,  2 
S.D.K.,  II,  5,  VIII,  13,  IX,  XVIII,  9 
Sei-tze,  II,  25 
Seoul,  X,  I,  XX,  I,  2 
Shakespeare,  Rev.  J.  H.,  VII,  5 
Shanghai,   II,    i,    3,   25,   IV,    12,   V, 
I,  12,  13,  VIII,  2,  16,  XII,  9,  13,  16, 

XIII,  2,  II,   20,  XV,  3,  7,  XVII,  I, 
XX,  6,  7,  9,  10 


INDEX 


383 


Shanghai  Conference,  1890,  VIII,  12 
Shansi,  IV,  i,  V,  VI,  VIII,  2-4,  XII,  6, 

XV,  3,  8,  XVI,  XVII,  4,  XVIII,  8, 

XX,  10 
Shantung,  II,  9,  22,  26,  27,  III,  IV,  V, 

I,    17,   VI,    12,  VIII,  9,  XV,  2,   7, 

XVII,  2,  10,  XX,  10,  II 
Shaohing,  XIII,  5,  11 
Sheng  Kung-pao,  V,  16 
Shensi,  VI,  6,  12,  XV,  8,  XVIII,  8, 

XX,  10 
Shen  Tung-ho,  XVII,  8 
Shereshevvsky,  Bishop,  VIII,  4 
Shih  Pao,  VIII,  13,  16 
Shimoda,  Madame,  XVII,  6b 
Shimonosei<i,  XIX,  7 
Shin  Kwang,  IV,  4 
Shin  Nung,  IV,  20 
Shin-chang  Hsien,  XIII,  9 
Shintoism,  XIX,  9 
Shioda,  VIII,  10 
Shonock,  Rev.  A.  G.,  VIII,  9,  XIV, 

1-5 

Sian  fu,  V,  21,  VI,  22,  IX,  4,  X,  3, 

XV,  8,  XIX,  5,  XX,  5 
Siang  Liu,  V,  5 
Siccavvei,  VIII,  i 
Simon,  Pere,  VIII,  i 
Simpson,  Sir  Alexander,  XVIII,  5 
Singapore,  XX,  4 
Siva,  XX,  21 

Smith,  Dr.  Arthur,  II,  5,  V,  i,  XV,  4 
Soochow,  XIII,  II 
Soothill,  Rev.,  XVI,  11 
South  Kensington,  VII,  li 
Sprague,  Professor,  XIX,  2 
St.  David's  College,  I,  i 
Su,  Prince,  XVII,  2d 
Su  Chih-ching,  XII,  15 
Su  In-chi,  XII,  15 
Suez  Canal,  II,  2 
Sui  fu,  XV,  9 
Sun    Chia-nai,    XII,    2,    4,    12,    13, 

XVII,  9 
Sun  Yat-sen,  XVI,  13,  XX,  3,  4,  5 
Sungpu,  XI,  2 
Sung  Tsun,  II,  13,  23 
Suttner,  Baroness  von,  XXI,  8 
Suzuki,  XIX,  I 
Swallow,  Mrs.  Robert,  IX,  6 
Sw^ansea,  I,  3 
Swatow,  XV,  6 


Syria,  V,  21 

Szechuen,  IV,  7,  XI,  2,  XV,  9,  XVI, 
13,  14 

Ta  Koo-tow,  XIII,  18 
Ta  Shih-tze,  XIII,  4,  16 
Taft,  President,  XXI,  13 
T'ai  Ch'ing  Kung,  XX,  11,  12 
Taiping  Rebellion,   II,  7,    III,    i,   3, 

VI,  I,  21,  XX,  18 
T'ai-yuan  fu,  V,  2,  4,  5,  VI,  VII,  6, 

VIII,  3,  XV,  8,  XVII,  7,  8,  XX,  5, 

XVI,  1,2,3,4,  II.  12 
Takakusu,  XIX,  5 
T'an  Tse-T'ung,  XII,  2,  12-14 
Tanyresgair,  I,  i 
Taoism,  V,  22 
Taoist  Pope,  XX,  9 
Tao  Kwang,  Emperor,  VI,  22 
Tarring,  Sir  Charles,  XVIII,  8 
Taylor,  Rev.  Hudson,  I,  7,  II,  4,  V, 

28,  29,  IV,  2 
Taylor,  Mrs.  Hudson,  V,  13,  15 
Taylor,  Jeremy,  III,  9 
Tehchovv,  VI,  22 
Teng  Chow  fu,  II,  5,  25 
Thomas,  Mr.,  II,  3,  IV,  8 
Thomas,  Rev.  (India),  XIV,  4 
Thompson,  Silvanus,  VII,  11 
T'ien  Huang,  VI,  21 
Tientsin,  II,  4,   6,    21,  25,  27,  V,  6, 

13,  26,  VII,  I,  VIII,  4,  10,  13,  16,  IX, 

4,  XII,  I,  13,  XVII,  7,  II 
T'ien-t'ai,  XIII,  XIX,  3,  XX,  11 
Tilley,  Rev.,  VII,  7 
Ting  Ch'i-chang,  IV,  7 
Ting  I-chang,  VI,  23 
Ting  Pao-chen,  IV,  7,  VI,  21 
Ting  P'ao-ch'uen,  XVI,  14 
Ti-tsang,  XIII,  10 
Tokyo,  XIX,  II,  12,  XVII,  6 
Tolstoi,  XIX,  6 
Tong  Kid-son,  XVII,  5 
Toronto,  XIV,  10 
Tournon,  VI,  i 
Town,  Mr.  John,  VII,  7 
Tribe,  Dr.  Ethel,  XX,  19 
Ts'ai,  Mr.,  IX,  6,  9,  XII,  8 
Tsai  Chen,  Duke,  XVII,  i,  66 
TsaiTse,  Duke,  XVIII,  3 
Ts'ang  Kieh,  IV,  20 
Ts'en  Ch'un-hsiian,  XVI,  2,  4,  13 


384 


INDEX 


Tseng,  Marquis,  VII,  3,  VIII,  6,  8, 

IV,  5 

Tseng,  Mr.,  XX,  14,  18 

Tseng  Kwoh-ch'uen,  V,  3,  9,  13,  17, 

26 
Tseng  Kwoh-fan,  III,  i,  IX,  5,  XX,  15 
Tsing  Ching,  XIII,  i6 
Tso  Tsung-t'ang,  VI,  6,  22,  27,  XI,  5 
Tuan  Fang,  XV,  8,  XX,  5,  16 
T'ung  Chih,  Emperor,  III,  6 
T'ung  Fu-hsiang,  XII,  13 
Turner,  Rev.  Joshua,  V,  6,  12,  16,  19, 

22,  VI,  12 
Twentieth    Century    Club,    XV,    5, 

XXI,  3 

Underbill,  Dr.,  I,  7 

Union  Church,  Shanghai,  II,  3,  IV, 

12 
United  Evangelical  Mission,  XX,  15 
United  Presbyterian  Mission,  V,  15, 

XX,  17 

Vairochana,  XIII,  10 
Verbiest,  VI,  i 
Vincent,  Mr.,  VII,  7 
Vishnu,  XX,  21 

Wade,  Sir  Thomas,  V,  7,  13 

Wales,  I,  I,  XVIII,  i 

Walsham,  VIII,  10 

Wang  Kwoh  Kuiig  Pao,  IX,  i,  2,  XII,  2 

Wan  Lieh,  VI,  i 

Wang,  Mr.,  II,  15,  18 

Wang,  Dr.,  IV,  5 

Wang  Chao,  XII,  15 

Wang  Ming-luan,  XI,  5,  8 

Wang  Wen-shao,  XI,  5 

Ward,  VI,  21 

Washburn,  Mr.  Stanley,  XXI,  7 

Washington,  XIV,  9,  XV,  5,  6 

Watson,  Dr.,  II,  106 

Weardale,  Lord,  XXI,  9 

Webster,  Rev.  J.,  XVII,  8 

Wei,  VI,  12 

Wei-hsien,  II,  22 

Welldon,  Bishop,  XVIII,  15 


Welsh  Revival,  XVIII,  i 

Wen  T'ing-shih,  XII,  2,  15 

Weng  T'ung-ho,  XI,  3-5,  8,  XII,  2, 

3,  5-7,  II 
Wesleyan  Society,  XX,  15 
West  Lake,  XIII,  4 
Westminster,  XVII,  4 
Wherry,  Dr.,  XI,  i,  2,  8,  XVII,  3 
White,  Miss,  XX,  18 
White  Lily  Sect,  V,  92 
Whiting,  Rev.  Albert,  V,  22 
Whitewright,  Rev.,  I,  VI,  14,  17 
Williams,  Rev.  E.  T.,  and  Mrs.,  IX,  2 
Williams,  Rowland,  I,  i 
Williamson,  Dr.  Alexander,  II,  5,  24, 

26,  V,  18,  VIII,  16,  IX,  I,  2 
Wilson,  Mr.,  V,  11,  VI,  17 
Wilson,  Rev.  C.  E.,  XVIII,  8 
Woo,  Mr.,  XX,  16 
Woosung,  XII,  13,  XV,  I 
World- Baptist  Conference,  XVIII,  2 
Wu  T'ai  Shan,  VI,  10 
Wu  Ting-fanf,  XXI,  10 
Wuchang,  VI,  11,  21,  VIII,  12,  XII,  i, 

XX,  5 

Yale  Mission,  XX,  15 

Yang,  VII,  3 

Yang  Shih-shen,  XII,  14 

Yang  Tzui,  XII,  14 

Yao  Kou,  IV,  13 

Yei  Yuen,  IV,  5 

Yellow  River,  V,  6 

Yen  Ch'ang,  XX,  5 

Yen  King-ming,  VI,  27 

Yin  Yang,  II,  15 

Y.M.C.A.,  XVIII,  9 

Yokohama,  Specie  Bank,  XIX,  13 

Yo  Shih-fo,  XIII,  4,  16 

Yu  Hsien,  VIII,  4 

Yu  Hsun,  XV,  8 

Yuan  Shih-kai,  XII,  2,  11,  13,  XVI,  7, 

XVII,  2,  XX,  5,  6 
Yuen  Ch'ang,  XII,  12 
Yung  Ch'ing,  XI,  7 
Yung  Ho  Kung,  VIII,  9 
Yung  Wing,  XII,  12,  13 


Printed  in  Great  Britain  by 

VNWIN  BROTHERS,  LIMITED,  THE  GRESHAM  PRESS,  WOKING  AND  LONDON 


Pricicelon  Theoloqital  Sfmrnary-Spee'  Ubrary 


1    1012  01041   3914 


DATE  DUE 

m^ 

i^ 

J^'tf'.-v.'m' 

•■■/»>.;<-  ,, 

*ei«smmt 

--.^ 

— 4;-J^U**wl.»"" 

f^"'"^ 

HIGHSMITH  #' 

5230 

In  USA 

